What's Up in Smallville
by Crazy Danae
Summary: Something's up with the people in Smallville and the only person that can help Clark is Chloe. Chapter 22 is finally up. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**I will tell you straight off that I am a Chlark fan. At first I thought I was a Chlex-er, but all I seem to write is Chlark. Maybe I just like Chloe too much. Maybe I want her to hook up with someone really bad so I can live vicariously. I love this new character in the Superman universe and can only pray that the PTB work her into the history and futuresomehow. She's too great to lose!_

_**Disclaimer:**I own nothing of Smallville. I would love to, but it just wasn't to be… So I just "satisfy" myself writing with the characters. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Chapter 1

The day was finally winding down… the colors of the brilliant Kansas sunset draining all of Chloe's stresses away. University was a lot more challenging than high school ever had been, but in the same way, it was eminently satisfying. Her classes were challenging her and she was meeting new and interesting people. Add to all that, she was back in her beloved Metropolis. As the sun disappeared and the dusk fell ever heavier on the street below, she climbed back in to her apartment through her window from the fire escape and heaved a heavy sigh. "Then why am I so bored?" she asked her empty apartment… obviously rhetorically.

She sighed again as she puttered around the kitchen making something to eat. It just felt like life had lost all of its zest the day she'd left Smallville. She missed Clark and Pete desperately and wondered if they ever thought of her anymore. Her eyes strayed to the 11x14" photo that she'd had blown up from the end of their sophomore year. There she was... sandwiched between her two best buds… all of them grinning so hard that you would have thought their jaws would have busted into little pieces from the straining. "That had been such a great day…" muttered Chloe.

_Dwiddle-dee-do! Dwiddle-dee-do!_ **A/N: Please picture Wayne and Garth moving their hands in a waving motion to indicate a flashback. (Besides, how do you spell that?) If you don't know who Wayne and Garth are… Oh, could you just shoot me?**

"Mrs. Kent, could you puhleeze take a picture of us?" Chloe begged, batting her eyes at Clark's mother.

Clark leaned against the counter and shot Chloe a petulant look. "Ahh, Chlo… Do we hafta?"

"Clark Joseph Kent!" Chloe matched him pout for pout and she could tell that he really regretted his moment of weakness two years prior. "You promised!"

Clark groaned. "Did you, honey?" his mom chided gently. "If you did…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just don't think I'm very photogenic." He ducked his head and Chloe wondered if he did that because he was embarrassed or because he hadfinally realized his eyes gave him away every time he tried to lie.

She laughed in disdain. "Clark, you know for a fact that you're a beautiful male specimen. Girls cry themselves to sleep at night because you never even notice them." _Including me_, she thought as quietly as she could. She had to think quietly because sometimes she could swear that he could read her mind.

Martha Kent looked at the two teens and smiled. _It's so lovely for Clark to have such a pretty and vivacious friend. Clark just lets himself get too serious sometimes. _She understood the why… but sometimes she was afraid that he was ruining his childhood with all that angst. She shook her head. That was a problem for a different day. "So, Chloe dear… Where do you want you and Clark to stand?"

Chloe looked at Clark for a moment and then shook her head. "Mrs. Kent, I know you're really busy, but would you mind trying to take a candid shot of us when Pete gets his lazy butt here?"

"You know, not everyone can be artificially juiced up each and every morning," Clark laughed, tickling her side. "How many have you had this morning?"

Chloe shrieked and jumped away from her tormentor. "Two cups regular and three double-shot lattes," she said matter-of-factly.

Even Martha gasped. "Chloe Sullivan! It's 9:30 in the morning! What are you trying to do to yourself?"

Chloe laughed. "I'm a city girl, Mrs. Kent. We wanted an early start and that's not something that comes easily to me." She smiled her 100-watt patented Sullivan grin. "Plus, I know these two boys. If they have it their way, I'll be lucky to get a cup of plain before dinner! I have to keep up my strength somehow."

Clark smirked. "That's true, Mom. Plus, you never want an encounter with the Chloe monster enduring caffeine withdrawals." He shuddered at memories.

"Clark!" Chloe shrieked and whacked Clark on his shoulder. Pain shot up her arm and she had to shake her hand to disperse the pain. "Damn, Clark! Have you been lifting weights after school?"

Clark blushed a fiery red and his mouth just moved up and down soundlessly and Chloe giggled in delight. _Clark is soooo adorable when I mention his oh so hunky body!_ "Chloe, why do you think I married a farmer?" Martha drawled lazily. Chloe just looked at her blankly until the realization of what was just said kicked in. She could feel herself blush hotly and Martha just smiled knowingly.

"Mo-o-o-om!" Clark groaned. "You're not supposed to say stuff like that!"

The sound of a car breaking on the driveway distracted them all from a potentially disturbing conversation. "Pete!" Chloe exclaimed and ran out the door.

She could hear laughter behind her and Clark saying, "Gee, you'd think she hadn't just seen him yesterday…" She was glad that there was a breeze to cool her burning cheeks. _Oooo! Clark's going to pay for making fun of me!_ To distract herself momentarily, she threw herself into Pete's arms.

"Sheesh, Chlo!" Pete grunted upon impact, struggling to stay upright. "Where's the fire?"

"Clark was making fun of me…" she started, moving away from him slightly so she could look at his reaction to her news.

Pete fluttered his hand to his chest in shock. "And he still lives to tell the tale? You must be getting soft, Sullivan!"

She pushed at his arm, reigning in from actually smacking him on the arm since her hand still stung from its contact with Clark earlier. "Pete! I'm not finished!" She waited until he mimed zipping his lips before she continued. "And then Mrs. Kent started talking about what attracted her to Mr. Kent!"

Pete's eyes rounded and then he burst into laughter. "With you and Clark in the same room?" he gasped. She nodded silently which caused further laughter. "Oh, dear!"

"What's up?" Clark asked, suddenly appearing slightly behind Chloe.

"If you weren't so slow, Kent," Chloe snarked, not even turning around and causing Pete to practically double over with laughter convulsions, "you would know." She glared at Pete as he fell to the ground, unable to maintain his vertical stance while laughing so hard. "Ross, if you're laughing at me…" She let it trail off threateningly.

Clark helped Pete up and then turned to her with that Kent smile. She could feel herself melting within. _That smile needs to be federally regulated,_ she thought wryly.

"Ah, Chloe. You know we love you…" he said, throwing his arm around her shoulders. Pete joined in and she couldn't help but laugh.

_How can I stay mad when two beautiful guys say they love me?_ "How did I ever fall in with you two maniacs," she asked helplessly. They all began to laugh because each knew she hadn't given them a chance to not be her friend. Suddenly, Chloe felt a flash and knew that the picture Mrs. Kent had just taken would be a masterpiece… something she'd treasure forever.

_Dwiddle-dee-do! Dwiddle-dee-do!_

Chloe shook her head and sighed again. When Pete had moved away, things had changed so much… some for the better and some not. She sniffed and realized she was burning her dinner… again. She raced into the kitchen and took her rice pot off the burner and threw it in the sink. "Damn it, Sullivan! Pay attention!" Her doorbell rang and she raced to the door. She needed a distraction… any distraction. Maybe Susan wanted to study and she could convince her to go grab some food as well. "Susan, you've saved me from…" she started as she threw open the door. She stopped as she found a large bouquet of wildflowers practically surrounding her face. She stepped back so she could look over it… and her eyes widened.

"Chloe, I need your help…"


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**This chapter… Well, I liked writing it, but it's very much a history lesson into Clark's origins… which means it's not a lot of my own… which I'm not sure I like…_

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Chapter 2

Chloe turned around, leaving the door wide open. "Is that the only reason why you'd bother to come and visit?" She could feel the sharp stab of disappointment and a bitter taste formed in the back of her throat.

"Chlo, if that was true, would I have bothered to bring flowers?" Clark stepped into the apartment and quietly shut the door. "Plus, you've only been here for maybe a couple of months!"

"Semantics," she muttered, trying to straighten up her apartment inconspicuously.

"Chloe, sit down," Clark said quietly, grabbing her arm and guiding her to her sofa. "It's not like I care if your apartment is messy. Where do you keep your vases?" After receiving her muttered instructions, he took some time to do such a little domestic chore that might allow Chloe time to calm down and be more rational. When he finally finished, he came and sat next to her. "I suppose I can't really blame you for your reaction. I shouldn't have started out the way I did…"

"Gee, ya' think?" Chloe bit out. She knew she was being unreasonable, but her reminiscence from earlier had suddenly made her extremely touchy. She took a deep a breath. "Clark, I'm sorry… You just caught me…"

"At a bad time. Yeah, I figured." He smiled gently. "That always seems to be my problem…"

Chloe laughed. "Clark, if you didn't have the gift of showing up when it was most inconvenient for the bad guys…" She shuddered slightly. If Clark didn't have his impeccable sense of timing, she would have been dead ten times over or more. Even tonight, it was a rather good thing he'd shown up. "I'm glad you're here. What's going on?"

Clark looked at her for a long minute, his face gone from teasing to serious in .000001 second. "Chloe, I didn't know who else to turn to… Who else could help me find the answers…?" He started wringing his hands together and Chloe was glad he'd put the flowers away or she'd have flower goo all over her sofa.

She placed her small hand over his and he stilled. She turned his face so he'd look at her. "Clark… Just tell me."

Clark took a deep breath. "OK, so you remember when we came back from the Fortress?"

Chloe shuddered in remembrance. "I was so glad when we left… I was so sure I would never be warm again!"

Clark laughed, which lightened the mood somewhat. "Jor-El wasn't very nice to sweep you up in his portal in your summer graduation finest!"

"It's not like he was that concerned about what happened to me…" Chloe frowned. She wasn't fond of Clark's birth father and what he had done to those nearest and dearest to her heart… Let alone the demands he had put on Clark…

Clark drew her into a shoulder hug and she was warmed by his concern… both then and now. "And you remember that I had to swear to him that I'd come back to learn more…"

"Right!" Chloe bit out. "He wants you to learn how to rule the world…"

Clark stood up suddenly, but still made sure that Chloe wasn't just thrown aside. As he began to pace, Chloe could feel his indecision and conflicts. She knew that Clark had initially rebelled against Jor-El out of loyalty to Jonathan Kent. No wonder he was feeling conflicted if he was reconsidering his opinion of Jor-El. "I'm not sure that's actually what he wants…"

Even with that, she was still shocked. "Excuse me? Didn't he tell you point-blank?" She felt flabbergasted at that radical a change of attitude and she wanted to play the devil's advocate so he would be forced to look at all the angles for this one.

Clark looked at her and sighed. "The only reason why we think that is because that voice said he was Jor-El. I knew him as a baby, but I don't remember him. But he sent me here to _save_ me… and he'd come here and loved here as well. Why would he want me to change that culture and make it mirror a society that ignored their planetary danger to the point that _I'm_ the only survivor?"

Chloe could only stare. "How in the world do you know all that?" she whispered, stricken at the stupidity of such a supposedly "advanced" society.

"You know that the entire summer I've been going back and forth to the Fortress…" He paused and smiled. "Have I told you how much I love to fly?"

Chloe burst into peals of laughter. "You haven't taken me again… like you promised…" She pretended to pout. She knew he was purposefully delaying their discussion, but she wasn't that anxious to start it up.

"Ah, Chlo!" he sighed. "You know I've been busy…" He had never been able to be strong against the force of her pouts.

"Too busy for your best friend?" She lowered her eyes so he couldn't see the twinkle she knew was lurking there.

"Chloeee!" Clark drawled, obviously reluctant to continue playing the game. "You're interrupting the story." They both laughed, which was a nice release. She patted the sofa next to her and he sank down. They let the silence spread before they delved into a story thatcould only enforce Clark's feeling of being alien and alone. "The Library has a number of video-style records and this summer has been all about learning Kryptonian history, really. And I found one that I think was somehow snuck in…"

"Snuck in? Seriously?" Chloe looked at him, her eyes round with surprise. "Why? Why would they sneak it in? Why would they need to? Why would you think that they had? Just… Why?"

"Well, you know how people are… Everyone wants to be viewed in the best possible light. But the records of the days and months leading to the explosion… It's focused on Jor-El and his struggles with the government. It helps that the House of El has always been a house of scientists and historians with a fierce need for discovering and revealing the truth."

Chloe thought about this for a moment. All of a sudden Clark's skill as a journalist and investigator became clear. He was bred for it…

"It was really nice to find it because I was able to learn and see more about my family. Jor-El was a dedicated scientist and he's the one that foundthe initial chemical imbalance of the planet's core. He reported it to the Council and they rejected his findings by the insistence of the planet-wide computer system..."

"They had a planet-wide…?" she interrupted, while Clark finished with "…Braniac…" They stared at each other a moment before Chloe began to giggle. "Braniac? Are you serious?"

Clark grinned. "I know. I had a hard time with it myself initially. I was really thrown with a fit of giggles and had to pause the playback." He smiled, but it quickly drained off his face. "Braniac pretty much controlled the planet without much Kryptonian involvement. Supposedly, he made life easier for them by controlling day to day decisions which left them open to work on scientific and artistic breakthroughs."

"So he really controlled Krypton…" The name of Clark's planet didn't necessarily trip off her tongue with ease.

"Exactly… and monitored the health of the planet. So when he said Jor-El's calculations were wrong, everyone accepted that… including Jor-El. But what Braniac didn't count on was Jor-El's dedication to finding where he'd made his mistake so he could make sure he wouldn't make the same mistake again. He rechecked his numbers with the help of my mother Lara and decided he needed to take a physical reading, which was very unusual."

"How did they do their research then?" Chloe asked. She couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the concept since she was always "getting dirty" in pursuit of article research.

"Chlo, you really aren't getting the picture of the Kryptonians. They were a hyper-sterile society. Most births were really test-tube babies of the true "test-tube" variety. All research was done with Braniac's data." He sighed. "They thought they had fulfilling existences but to us it would have been like living in a prison. Braniac monitored everything to monitor any deviations from what had been pre-determined as Kryptonian perfection."

"What would happen if you were considered 'deviant'?" Chloe asked breathlessly, dreading the answer she knew was coming.

"You were sentenced to behavior modification therapy if it was considered 'dangerous'… and if you refused the therapy or were resistant to it, you were sent somewhere…" His brow wrinkled. "I don't really understand what that means precisely, but you were put somewhere called 'The Phantom Zone'. It sounds like their version of a prison colony." He grimaced again. "Some deviations were considered 'acceptable' and the person was usually humored as we would humor a retarded person… but we're really off-track."

"It's just really interesting," Chloe said, feeling a little guilty for taking up their time with a history lesson. _But it's not like we're really in some sort of big rush or anything…_

Clark smiled. "I'm glad you're interested. My folks… well, mainly Dad… would rather pretend that Krypton is an imaginary place and I'm really just a meteor-affected Earthling."

"I can see why he'd prefer that. Krypton hasn't really been great for your family… besides providing you, of course." She smiled at him and was glad when he returned it. She knew Martha and Jonathan Kent would have suffered many more horrors just to have the chance to raise this b… man. "And I know I can't do an article or something on this, but I've been researching my Wall of Weird for so long that to learn about the origins of the meteor rocks is waaaayyy too tempting!"

Clark grinned at his friend… and she had always been a true friend… even when he didn't know it. She was showing superhuman restraint considering she had **the** top story in the history of the world in her hot little hands. "Listen, Chlo. How 'bout I bring you back to the Fortress and you can go through all the historical records."

Chloe jumped onto her knees and squealed, looking like a 10-year old just given the surprise of her life. _I'll just have to dress better this time and maybe I can convince Clark to help me bring a gas-powered heater…_ "Seriously? Are you sure?" Clark grinned and nodded. He was surprised (but really shouldn't be considering Chloe is who she is…) to have a bundle of blonde energy in his arms. He smiled and held her close, almost surprised at how nice she felt in his arms… and how humbled he was to have her as a friend. He shut off the part of his brain that was insisting on recognizing the chemical attraction. He was ever aware that a romantic relationship with Chloe had too much potential for disaster. She pulled back and looked at him with worried eyes. "Won't Jor-El object?" In her eyes, there showed a disappointed look but also the determination not to cause him further trouble.

Clark's grin widened. "If you let me finish my story…" Chloe immediately disengaged herself and sat beside him, emanating her fullest attention. "Okay, so Jor-El took his physical readings and they confirmed his previous findings. His only conclusion was that there was something wrong with Braniac."

Chloe gasped. "How did he plan on fixing Braniac when he controlled the planet and refused to acknowledge he was malfunctioning?"

He nodded. "That's what I thought. But Jor-El was smart." Chloe heard the note of pride in his voice and hid a small smile. _Boy, this change of heart really goes deep…_ "Ever since he'd come back from Earth, he'd been dissatisfied with Braniac's constant surveillance. So he came up with a way to bypass that security occasionally… To do so constantly would have definitely raised suspicion. So he found a backdoor into Braniac. But he didn't want to be found at his home checking on the super-computer… so he went to the main facility. What he found was that Braniac had decided that all of Krypton was deviant from the pre-defined perfection previously programmed in and had therefore set Krypton's destruction in motion."

"So no Robotic Law #1?"

"Nope. He'd taken on himselfthe roles ofjudge, jury and executioner. Jor-El knew that Braniac would just deny his new findings… and there was no way for him to correct Braniac's programming… so he started printing out his findings, hard copy. But because that was so unusual, it alerted Braniac, who then sent robot sentries to get Jor-El. Thankfully, his backdoor entry system allowed him to escape."

Chloe was spellbound and Clark smiled. She tried to pull herself together. "So Jor-El was able to defeat Braniac? Was he erased?"

"Actually, no. Braniac hadn't been planning on dying with the planet, so he set up programming to continue the every day activities of the Kryptonians and told the Council that he was going to instigate a system-wide check and would be unavailable for serious consultation for a week. He'd always done that occasionally, so they felt no worries…

"Jor-El presented his further findings, but the Council still didn't believe him. They determined that he was trying to promote a world-wide panic and was, therefore, deviant. They ruled that he was to go home and remain there until Braniac was available to begin a modification program. Because he was such a popular figure in the society and such a brilliant mind, they didn't want to lose him."

"Now he's trapped," Chloe said sadly.

"Exactly," Clark's face looked extremely tense and unhappy. "And Krypton's easy off-planet transportation had been destroyed long before… when they wanted to avoid the 'contaminating influence' of other cultures. So he began building a small shuttle to test the feasibility of saving his family. Unfortunately, just as he was about to test it, the planet began its final death throes."

"Oh, Clark!" Tears streaming down her face matched the state of his own.

"Jor-El thought Lara and I could fit in the shuttle, but she refused to abandon him. So they put me in and Jor-El programmed it for me to come to Earth with all the knowledge of Krypton… and specifically to find the Kent family, whom Jor-El really liked." Clark trailed off and they sat for awhile to mourn his birth parents.

But Chloe's mind was racing. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. "But Clark, that doesn't sound anything like…"

"The Jor-El we know?" Clark nodded after quickly wiping his cheeks. "I know. That's why I was so glad to find that record… I'm not sure that the voice was Jor-El…"

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**_A/N:_**_ I only updated yesterday, but I got my very first review. So here's my shout-out…_

_Star999: Thanks for the kind words. As I've continued writing, I have yet to include Pete, but your comment made me remember how much I love the three of them. (Can I just say that I miss Sam?)_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:** I really hope ya'll excuse my history lesson of the last chapter. Sometimes I read the fan fiction and they don't seem to quite get it. Anyway…_

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Chapter 3

Chloe stretched in her bed and when she was aware of her sheets, she sat bolt upright. The last thing she remembered was talking to Clark about possibilities. She pushed the covers aside, worried that Clark had taken off on his mission of discovery without her. She was relieved, but still slightly disappointed, that she was fully dressed… well, except for her shoes.

She pattered into the front room and her heart almost burst at the sight of Clark curled up on her couch. He was so adorable that her heart always melted. She was so happy that he'd chosen her to come to when he felt he'd had no one else to turn to.

Quietly, she put on a pot of coffee so she'd be ready for anything Clark needed her to do. Deep in thought, she didn't hear Clark sneak up behind her. When suddenly she was embraced from behind, she barely managed to suppress a scream. "Clark! Seriously! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Nah, but I had to do something fun to start the day." He grinned mischievously. "You were trying so hard to be quiet, but you apparently forgot about my superhearing."

Chloe grimaced. "Do you have that turned on all the time?"

Clark's smile dimmed a little. "With all the info I've gathered, I've learned that I really need to be a little wary. So I tend to sleep rather lightly…"

Chloe felt terrible. She hadn't meant to bring up a sore subject. Contritely, she gave Clark a big hug. "I'm sorry, Clark…" she murmured. She smiled when he returned her embrace.

"I'm really lucky you're my friend, Chlo," he muttered into her hair.

Chloe flinched inside. _That's all I've ever been to him_, she thought sadly. She was his Girl Friday and she couldn't envision that ever changing. She pushed away as her coffee dinged. "Ah, your saving grace is ready."

Clark backed away obediently, tolerant good humor written all over his face. "I _sooo _won't get between you and your love-ah, Chlo. I still value my skin… whether it be indestructible or not!"

Chloe growled. "Yeah, you better watch out, Smallville!" Inwardly, she smiled. No one but Lana had ever realized that she'd switched to decaf after her abortive alliance with Lionel Luthor. She had plenty of energy without the artificial boost… and had really decreased the number of withdrawal headaches she suffered. But she went to great pains so no one else knew. Having such an obvious weakness prevented them from digging too much deeper for other weaknesses. She fixed up two cups of coffee and handed one to Clark. Once she had it mixed to her satisfaction (three sugars and milk), she sat at the bar and put on her thoughtful face. "Clark, something's bothering me."

Clark smiled and sipped at his coffee (no sugar, heavy milk) to buy himself some time. "So your journalistic mind was able to sort through all the history while you were sleeping, hmmm? Are you sure you're not a meteor freak?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes warningly. "Clark, you _know_ that I wasn't living in Smallville when the meteors struck!"

Clark burst out laughing, but the mischievous look didn't leave his eyes. "Chloe, you know as well as I that doesn't mean anything. It always seems that those with the greatest powers had late and sudden exposure to kryptonite."

At this point, Chloe's eyes were narrowed to slits. "Clark! Don't you try and make me your handy freak-of-the-week!" She stood and tried to look menacing. "And stop side-stepping the subject. I can read you like a book!"

Clark held up a hand in surrender. He knew his change of subject wasn't going to distract her for long. "You're assuming I'm worried about something other than breaking my change of heart to Dad?"

Chloe snorted derisively. Clark was suddenly surprised that such an inelegant sound could emerge from her. "Give me some credit! Mr. Kent might need a bit of time to adjust…"

"Chlo, you're right. I do have something else that's freaking me out." He took a deep breath. "I've already told Dad." It all came out in a rush… as if it would be easier if he said it just as fast as he could.

She was stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw hanging loosely open. It took a few moments for her to gather herself together. She really hadn't expected him to drop that bomb on his parents already. He'd always been mostly open with his folks, but with this… He had always felt that hiding information was protecting those he loved. "How did he and your mother react?"

Clark grimaced. "They totally accepted the new info, absolutely no question."

Chloe snapped her mouth shut. "Then Clark, what's the problem?" She laughed a little. "Seriously. You had me thinking your folks had disowned you!"

His face, if anything, became even more serious. "Chlo, I'm not sure you understand. Before that second meteor storm, my parents practically forbid me to have any further contact with Jor-El… and when I told them, there weren't any questions. They didn't even ask me if I thought this was a new manipulation. I usually use them as a sounding board… to give me alternative points of view… but there was absolutely nothing."

"Okay…" she acknowledged. "That _is_ a little weird…" She had to keep from pounding questions at him. Her journalistic Spidey sense was totally tingling, but she did want him to reveal the story in his own time.

"And that's not all… They've started to get really lax on me using my powers and have even suggested using them in front of others…"

Chloe gulped. _That's new… _His parents freaked out each time they found out one of his best friends… the two people that were most likely to accept him for who he was no matter what… had discovered his secret. "Oh, my… That's highly suspicious…"

"It gets worse," he said grimly. "They've started insisting that I don't help out on the farm."

"But…" Then Chloe looked at him sharply. That wasn't actually the worst and his eyes totally gave him away. She put her hands on her hips and looked him square in the eye. "Okay, Clark. Spill. There's a last piece of bad news that you're holding back."

Clark smiled, but there was absolutely no joy contained within. "You're right. But you may not actually want to know…"

She tossed her head and made a derogatory noise. _Who does he think I am? Lana? _"Well, you can't stop now… especially if I'm supposed to help you…"

He took a deep breath. "Well, I have evidence that the entire town of Smallville knows my secret and they're starting to insist that I take over for the mayor… including the mayor!"

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_**A/N:** Is there anything better than getting responses from those people that take the time to read your crap? Nope. Don't think so!_

_MarkMark261: Pretty much since I've started, you've been my most consistent reviewer… and with editing notes that I can use. I wanted to tell you again how much I appreciate that. With this posting, I'll also be posting your notes. (I knew the " Wayne's World" stuff was almost too cheesy, but I couldn't seem to help it! ;D)_

_Winthjo: I mostly agree that the voice we're hearing can't be Jor-El. (Hello? Dead?) But I have reasons for believing it's not Braniac per some spoilers I've read, but will not put here because I don't want to ruin anyone else's viewing pleasure._


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:** The next couple of chapters are going to be short. I wanted to end each on semi-suspenseful notes…and long chapters wouldn't have worked for that._

_On a historical note, while I was cleaning up this weekend, I found a "Buffy" fan fic I'd done years ago… I almost posted it, but it was so all about Season 2 before the info really came out and I just decided that I didn't have to re-write the season since my fic wasn't done half as good as Season 2…_**

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**Chapter 4**

All Chloe could do was blink. "They want you to be mayor? At 18? Isn't that against the law?"

Clark nodded. "That and to take over for the sheriff… Chloe, they're throwing 'power' at me right and left. They're _insisting_ I govern them."

Chloe's mind started running a mile a minute. _Considering half the town looks at him suspiciously considering all the crimes he's peripherally involved in, this is totally unexpected._ "You can't be serious!" _Yeah, Chlo. Get the most obvious out of the way first…_

"Don't I just _wish_ I was joking." He grimaced. "And it seems to be spreading…"

"What exactly do you mean by that? Be specific, Clark."

"I got a preliminary visit from Grandville's town council… feeling out the possibility of giving me the same offer." He sighed deeply. "It just seems really out of character."

She thought about it for a moment. "Does it feel like blackmail? Are people acting really differently in all aspects or just in regards to you?"

He took some time to consider it rather than just flipping off a glib answer. "It's just about me… and…" He broke off, suddenly blushing.

Chloe had to stop for a moment. There didn't seem to be any reason for that type of reaction when talking about gov… It hurt her with the force of a ton of bricks falling on her foot, but then she started seeing the humor of it. Clark was one of the shyest guys she knew and he wouldn't know how to handle a forceful woman… although she'd been trying to open him up to the possibility for years. "Women are throwing themselves at you, aren't they?" Clark could only nod and she tried to choke back a giggle… but a bit of sound escaped.

"Don't you laugh, Miss Sullivan!" He sighed. "It's one thing if they just ask for a date… It's another when it feels like they're being forced to be your sex slave!"

"Forced?" she jumped on the subconscious word. "Does it really feel like it's involuntary?"

"Sometimes it just feels like all the people I know are… being replaced?" He finished the sentence timorously, obviously not pleased with his final word selection.

"You're thinking a 'Stepford Wives' type of scenario?" He shrugged slowly, neither confirming nor denying the comparison.

Chloe got down from her stool and started to pace. Clark's eyes unconsciously followed and admired her trim figure containing such boundless energy. He shook his head to take him from such a dangerous thought pattern. They'd tried to be more than friends once and one tornado and a huge misunderstanding had finished that for good. When she stopped, Clark could tell she had a suggested plan of attack.

"I think I should go back with you to Smallville. Maybe if _I_ asked around…"

"Chlo, no! There's absolutely no way! I won't risk you." Clark straightened, his protective stance making him look rather forbidding.

"We don't have any other choice, Clark." Even being half a foot shorter than he, she managed to convey that he would be beating his head on a brick wall if he even thought about trying to stop her. "If they're ready to have you be their ruler, they're not going to tell _you_ anything! And everyone expects me to ask these weird hard questions."

"But what about your classes? You just started school…" Even as the words tumbled out of his mouth, he knew they were the most inane questions.

"And what about you, Clark? These people are my family as well…" Chloe sighed as she saw Clark's stubborn look forming. "Okay, give me a day… I've already done a bunch of prep work and most of the planned assignments… I'll tell them I have a family emergency and turn in what I've completed. It should placate most of them."

"And those it doesn't?"

Chloe tossed her blonde hair. "Clark, even in two months, I think most of the faculty knows the lengths I'll go for a story… and it's not like we're going to be gone for months… _Maybe_ a week… two at most…"

Clark sighed. He knew he was beaten and he really did need her help… Why else would he have shown up on her doorstep late at night? And she was the best investigator he'd ever known… "If they accept all that, we'll leave tomorrow afternoon…"

"You got it, big boy!" Chloe laughed, excited to have something new to discover. Even this small mystery had imbued her with a new sense of purpose.

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_**A/N:** Wow! I'm getting lots of different people reviewing! Now that's exciting! My last fic ("Clarky Horror Picture Show" for those that want to know) only had two people reviewing most of the time… I must be in heaven!_

_KentCharm: I hope I can keep that warm and fuzzy going for you. I am writing a little ahead (and posting as I get reviews, HINT HINT!) so the plan is to keep it fun and interesting. Can I maintain it? I think so… But only time will tell…_

_MarkMark: You're kidding! I actually made no grammatical errors in that one? Holy moly! It's a sign of Armageddon, I'm telling you! I was just channeling how forces seemed to want __Clark__ to rule the Earth and its inhabitants and how it would have to spread slowly. Hopefully I can keep it to being a fic you like… but I have to apologize. The chapters are really short for awhile, but I have plans to make them longer… soon!_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:** Our intrepid reporting duo is off to Smallville… What will they find? Will all of their illusions be ruined? Will they be able to discover what has infected the town? Unfortunately for my peace of mind, this is my shortest chapter ever… but I needed it to explain to my satisfaction how our favorite Clark could overcome his fear of flying._

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Chapter 5

Chloe clung to Clark's arm as they soared across the sky. The last time they'd flown, Clark had cocooned her in some sort of special material from the Fortress to protect her from the elements and the speed forces he was going to be using. All she'd been able to see was the gray sheeting… but _this_… This was so exhilarating. The landscape rushed past, but Clark had slowed enough so she could enjoy the view. Something that had been niggling at her sub-conscious clicked in and she had to laugh.

"What?" Clark asked, his lips touching her ear so she could hear… which made her shiver in delight. Fantasies regarding those lips had haunted her dreams for years with thoughts of what they could do to her… "Are you cold?" Concern tinged his voice and she just shook her head. "So…?"

"What happened to your fear of flying?" she asked, using her normal voice because Clark could hear her from nearly anywhere… having proved that a number of times.

"I'm thinking it was my fear of mechanical machines rather than the actual flying." He pulled a joyous loop de loop that set Chloe squealing with glee.

"Clark!" she gasped as they leveled off. She let her breathing return to mostly normal… well, as normal as she could with his body so close behind her… She decided to try again before asking for more aerial stunts. "But Clark, it can't just be a fear of planes. You used to get nauseous just trying to look over Andersen Bluff!"

Clark slowed even further to consider the question. He answered it with one of his own. "Chloe, last year… well actually since freshman year… What was my greatest fear?"

Chloe watched acres of farmland pass beneath her. Her mind shied away from the fact that Clark was _flying_ them to Smallville and violating all the laws of gravity. "That your secret would be found out."

"And…"

Chloe had to grin at the teacher voice coming from her best friend. "And… That everyone would treat you like a freak."

Clark nodded decisively. "Exactly. And what could be less normal than flying through the air under my own power?"

Chloe had to laugh. "So your fear of heights was psychosomatically linked with your fear of discovery? How delightfully _human_ of you, Clark!"

They giggled until the Smallville sign came into view. Quickly hiding amongst the clouds, Clark laid on a bit more speed to get them to the Kent farmstead without being seen.

But all of his efforts were for naught. A pair of knowing eyes watched the two teens from a distance. Quietly, but with no abatement in its anger, a voice roared, "That is _not_ acceptable, Kal-El!"

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_**A/N:** Just as a big FYI… I may be slowing down a little. The first five chapters came out so fast it was scary. (Of course, length may have had something to do with that.) I actually hand-wrote most of it and then had to type it in. But now they're getting longer and we're not doing history lessons… so bear with me!_

_I'm desperately trying to stay true to the "Smallville" history… but I think at this point, I'm going to consider this happening between when Clark "dies" and "Aqua"… without the trade-off of lives (which seems retarded to me) and the transfer of "Jor-El" into Lionel. (Can you tell that I can't remember the title to the death episode:D) If I continue to write while the season continues, I'll continually have to update the fic. So for those of you that are extremely touchy about continuity, that's the plan!_

___MarkMark261: Thank you, as always, for your sage proofreading and the note about my last author's note. I've fixed it so any future readers aren't potentially spoiled. I'm not guaranteeing what I said before will still hold true. After all, there are many villains in the mythos to choose from:D_

___I realized that the shortness comment was a compliment and took it as such. I was just a little disappointed in myself that they were so short. This one will be the shortest one so far, but it was a bit of fluff that I just had to put in… :D_

___And I'm not touching the Chloe not being affected comment. There are reasons, believe me!_

___KentCharm: Well, thank you, once again, for the support. My irritation with the shortness of the chapters is that I'm normally more verbose. But when you decide that you want to try and end each chapter with a "cliffhanger" type moment, they can get really short._

___And I'll have to get over to your fic! I love supporting other writers!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**__ Boy… That last one was really short… More a filler than anything, huh? But I thought __Clark__'s fear of heights should be explained… at least a little… and to my satisfaction… :D (Further comments are at the end of the chapter...)

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**Chapter 6**

They touched down gently, outside of the farm house. Sounds could be heard from inside the barn, so they went investigating. Inside, Martha and Jonathan Kent were struggling to get the hay bales up into the loft. "Mom! Dad! I told you that I'd do that as soon as I got back!" Clark stalked forward, his hands on his hips as he scolded them.

"Clark, it's not like we haven't done this before…" Jonathan blustered, trying manfully to hide the limp that still plagued him from the broken leg he'd received during the meteor shower. Chloe could feel Clark's frustration emanating from him and she put her hand on his arm to remind him that perhaps _now_ wasn't the best time to confront his parents.

Martha walked up to them and almost bowed low, which threw Chloe for a loop. It was like she wasn't even _trying_ to maintain normality. _But at least she checked it before she actually bowed…_ "Are you hungry, Clark? I've been working on your favorites all day…"

"Mom, you didn't even know I'd be back today!" Clark was practically exploding with frustration and Chloe was surprised that his parents weren't picking up on it. She stomped on his foot, which didn't hurt himbut at least got his attention. He smiled at his mother. "I really appreciate it, Mom. What's on tap?"

"Well, I have a pot roast in the crock pot, an apple pie cooling in the window…" she walked toward the house, listing enough food to feed an army, let alone the one teen it was all intended for. The two friends followed her into the house reluctantly. Clark looked back at his father, who just made shooing motions with his hands.

Chloe took his hand and hurried him toward the door in response to Martha's look of impatience, like Chloe was the one holding up the show. "Clark," she said in undertones only someone of his powers could hear. In fact, she could hardly hear herself. "We're not going to be able to talk openly here. After 'breakfast', we'll go into town and you can hold court at the Torch and I'll nose around a bit. We can consult this evening in the loft."

He nodded infinitesimally and they walked in the door. They both gasped at the amount of food Martha Kent had provided. All of Clark's favorite dishes, from any of the three meals, were placed all over the kitchen and the table groaned from the amount of food on it. In the corner, a small round table was set as if they were in a romantic bistro. "What do you think, Clark?" Martha hovered anxiously, practically wringing her hands together. "Your father put together the table yesterday. We thought you'd enjoy buffet style."

Clark's silence only increased his mother's anxiety and Chloe nudged him sharply in the side to prod him into action. "Mom, you didn't have to do all this…" he trailed off lamely.

Chloe had to bite back an irritated sigh. _Why does he have to be so dense sometimes? Even I know that isn't the right answer in this situation and he only told me about it. Of course, witnessing it first hand is even more shocking._

"I certainly did, Clark. You've been training in the Fortress and expending energy flying around on your errands. I have to keep your strength up." Martha's face was taking on a depressed quality and she'd hardly meet the two teens' eyes.

"Ummmm…" Clark began. Chloe stomped hard on his foot since she knew Martha wasn't watching. "Oh, Mom. It's totally great! All my favorite things! And I'm starving! This is gonna' be great!"

Those few words, delivered in a halting manner, produced immediate results. "I'm so glad!" She started fluttering about the kitchen in a tizzy. "Now you two sit down and I'll bring you some plates and you can tell me what you want."

"You don't have to do that, Mom. We can get our own food…" Chloe glared at him and motioned for him to sit down. The fact that he didn't get how he should act in this situation would have been obvious to Helen Keller.

"Mrs. Kent, could I help you with that?" Chloe came up to the older woman and put on her brightest smile.

Martha returned it, but shook her head. "Chloe, you're so sweet to offer, but you've just come home with Clark. You're going to be our guest for a little while. Let me serve you…"

Chloe didn't let her smile waver one iota, but her eyes did narrow slightly. Her mind went off in a million different directions as she made her way to the table and, when the answer hit her, she felt like she'd just been hit with a ton of bricks. _Oh, no! Clark bringing me home in his unique way has made his parents think I'm his… what? Girlfriend?_ Chloe leaned onto her hand in semi-misery. Clark had barely shown any interest in her as a girl duringtheir _freshman _year. And they, in their brainwashed state, think that now, three and a half years later, Clark is into her? _Oh, this is going to be a fun day…_

Since the two teens couldn't talk openly, they just tucked into the food and ate as much as they possibly could… which took Clark much longer considering he'd always had the proverbial hollow leg. However, the time they spent at the table just made Martha happier and, with each new helping, she actually began humming happily around the room. Finally Clark had eaten as much as he possibly could and they stood to leave. Martha's happy attitude crumbled about her. "You're leaving? Are you sure you don't want another piece of pecan pie? How about apple? It's almost finished baking…"

Clark actually groaned at the thought of more food. He sidestepped Chloe's elbow before it connected and rolled his eyes. "Mom, it was fabulous, but I couldn't possibly eat another bite right now. How about we save the apple pie for dinner tonight?" Clark had high hopes that they could find out what was wrong before the day closed. With Chloe beside him, he was sure they could figure out what the problem was within hours. That was always the nicest thing about being around Chloe. When they were together, he felt as if there was no problem too big for them to solve. _I mean, look at how we'd worked together when Lee and the Wonder Twins had kidnapped my family._ He looked at her and smiled. He could tell that she was already trying to work the problem out in his head.

Martha's voice jolted him out of his reverie. "I suppose that's true, Clark. Why don't you take the truck for the day and we'll see you when we get home."

"Oh, that's okay, Mom. I know you and Dad are going to need it…" He shook his head at how stupid he'd been. If he'd been thinking, he would have driven to Smallville in Chloe's Beetle. Instead, he'd been too anxious to fly with her to think that far ahead. Considering how concerned he was with keeping his abilities a secret, he'd sure left out some important thoughts. Everyone that didn't already know or show that they knew his secret was going to question how Chloe got down there… or at the very least why they would _walk_ into town when it was at least five miles. A quick glance in Chloe's direction revealed that she was thinking much the same thing.

Martha just smiled at him. "We'll be able to handle it, Clark. And we know how concerned you are about keeping your abilities a secret, although we still aren't sure why you're being so insistent about that…"

Chloe felt she had to jump in at this point. _After all, if I left it to Mr. Subtle over there, I'd still have to pick up all the pieces!_ "Oh, I'm sure Clark doesn't want to give up his privacy yet, Mrs. Kent. After all, look at all the attention those Hollywood stars get and they're not even half as impressive as Clark."

Martha was silent for a moment and Chloe wondered if she'd laid it on a little too thick. "You know, I'd never thought of it that way. Of course, this won't stay a secret forever, but I respect your desire to keep a private life for a little longer, Clark."

Clark gaped at her until he could pull himself together again. "Thanks, Mom. I knew you'd understand." He half-expected her to say "That's what moms are for" but it never came. Suddenly he realized that since he'd come back from the Fortress, neither of his parents have called him "son". With that realization came a depression so deep as to overwhelm him. He'd never felt adopted and had wished more than once that he'd been Jonathan and Martha's natural son. _At least they haven't started insisting I call them by their first names…_

Chloe looked over at Clark as he'd fallen silent and decided that discretion was the better part of valor at this point. She grabbed his arm and started tugging him toward the door. "We knew you'd understand, Mrs. Kent. We'll see you tonight!" She babbled this in a falsely bright voice so they could just get out the door. When the front door separated them from Martha, she heaved a sigh of relief. "Clark, let's just get the keys and we can talk on the way into town," she said tightly, cutting him off before he could talk about what had depressed him so much. She practically ran into the barn. "Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent said we could take the truck into town. Is that okay with you?"

Jonathan smiled down at her in a rather fatherly manner. She'd always liked the Kents, but this whole-hearted approval of her and Clark's supposed relationship that was in their perception only was rather unnerving. "Why certainly, Chloe. Don't you worry about a thing. You kids go have fun and we'll see you when we see you."

"Don't you want to know when we'll be back, Dad?" Clark asked, and Chloe could hear the yearning in his voice. She could totally empathize. These people looked and sounded like Clark's parents, but their behavior was more than a little unnerving.

"Clark, you're a grown man with responsibilities. You'll be back when you need us. That's all we need to know." Jonathan nodded in agreement with his own reasoning and calmly handed Chloe the keys before turning back to his chores.

"Do you need some help before we go?" Clark was starting to feel desperate for normality and Chloe was getting more than a little worried that he was going to blow their cover.

"We're fine, Clark. You and Chloe go and have fun." Jonathan just tossed the last comment over his shoulder and Chloe took his inattention to drag Clark from the barn.

"Clark, she hissed sub-vocally. "Don't push it. We're on the case. You just have to be patient!" They quickly reached the car and Chloe almost died of shock when Clark opened her door for her. She had always known that he'd been raised to be the perfect gentleman, but he rarely displayed that while they were together. The last time… She cut off that line of thought as fast as she could. She had given up on wishing things had been different. Besides, she had to acknowledge that the reason they hadn't pursued a possible relationship was because she'd shot him down so quickly after that summer break. She hadn't known what Whitney had asked of Clark and that Lana would have died if he hadn't jumped into the tornado to save her. _If only I'd been more patient… more understanding…_ She sighed deeply. It seemed that her list of "if onlys" grew daily.

Clark didn't say a word until they were on the road. "Patience isn't one of my strong suits, Chlo." He said it with nary a preamble and Chloe almost had to wrack her brain to figure out what he was talking about.

"I know, Clark, but we're investigating the situation. We should be able to figure out the cause today and then we can work on fixing it." She knew she was being overly optimistic, but she had to break through his depression somehow.

"They aren't even acknowledging me as their son anymore, Chloe." If he hadn't been driving, he would have put his head in his hands. He could feel this cold blackness surrounding him and could barely see her point. He hadn't felt this hopeless since his mother had been in the hospital because of the explosion from the destruction of his ship. He'd used red Kryptonite to escape that time, but this was different… more pervasive to the community that he loved.

"Clark, if it's like you thought and they're being corrupted by the entity that wanted you to rule the world, why would you be surprised?" She was getting really tired of his self-loathing attitude. "While it's true that with great power comes great responsibility, Clark, you can't blame yourself for every little thing that happens in Smallville or the world for that matter. Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, wish for something like this to happen?"

He was so shocked at the question that he actually stared at her until he realized he was driving. "Of course not. That would be criminal!"

Chloe smiled. "Exactly, Clark. So you can't even blame yourself for quietly wishing it. It's not your fault… Now we just have to find out what's going on."

The smile Clark turned Chloe's way almost blinded her with its brilliance. "Thanks, Chlo. What would I ever do without you?"

"Shrivel up and die, obviously," she snarked, relieved that he was coming out of it. She couldn't do anything if he decided to hide in his own pain. They laughed together and any awkwardness or depression dissipated entirely.

They drove up to the Talon. It had miraculously escaped the meteor storm unscathed and its popularity as a community hot spot had actually increased. Clark pulled into a spot that was miraculously right in front of the door. "Wow, Clark! It's incredible that we found such a great spot!"

Clark blushed hotly. "Well, it's not really a coincidence…"

Chloe opened up her door and hopped down. That's when she saw the sign and started to laugh until tears were in her eyes. "You have to be kidding me?" she gasped.

"I wish I was," Clark muttered ruefully. "And if I don't park here, people have actually pushed the truck to the spot."

Chloe wiped at her eyes and stared at the sign. It read "Reserved for the Hero of Smallville". She looked at Clark blearily. "It's not like you don't deserve it, Clark, but this…"

"It's too much, I know…" He sighed. "At least it's not decorated with gifts from the grateful again. I almost had a coronary the last time I came here…"

Chloe pulled herself together and threaded her arm through Clark's to communicate her sympathy, but it didn't stop her from teasing him some more. "They actually proffered gifts to their Savior?"

"Chloe! It's not like that!" Clark almost whined in his desperation to get off the subject.

"I know, Clark." She sobered up. Laughing at the situation really wasn't helping him, but she'd definitely write it down so she could giggle about it to her heart's content later. "And you'd never encourage that sort of thing. Clark, you never would… not even for a lark." On impulse, she got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

Before she'd found her steady footing again, she was shoved to the floor. Gasping from the pain in her backside, she looked up to identify her attacker. But it wasn't just one, even though they spoke in unison. "How dare you! He's mine!"

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_**A/N:** It's really starting to come together, isn't it? And finally a longer chapter! Huzzah! And one little continuity error from the series… Jonathan didn't receive a broken leg from the meteor shower, but considering his being prone to injury, don't you think he should have?_

_MarkMark261: Thank you for the constructive comments. I guess I thought that the flying would be the power that would make him feel like the biggest freak. Everything else could possibly be explained away (Jolt of adrenaline, lucky guess of what was behind that wall…) but flying… Flying under your own power is something that people don't "normally" do, although I do dream about it and think it would be AWESOME! Maybe that's why I just let it become a fantastic passion of his… one he could share with Chloe… :D_

_I could have left him with the phobia, but I don't know… I thought it was a humorous solution… I didn't address that he wasn't freaked out at first… Maybe he was. But I'm thinking that after a couple of months (per my story at least), he psychoanalyzed himself and thought that was the reason for the fear… Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry if I spoiled anything for you… and he hasn't started flying yet. In fact, he's already reiterated once that he's still afraid of heights. ;D_

_KentCharm: As always, I appreciate your supportive comments. But now, as the chapters (hopefully) continue to be longer, I hope you'll still enjoy it._

_iluvsmallville1: Thank you for your lovely review. I definitely plan on keeping the story up. I do write a bit ahead, but don't want to overload ya'll with chapters. This will probably be going up today, but I'm already working on Chapter 11… Wait! I've said too much… Is that bad of me:D Thanks for reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:** Finally! A more substantial chapter! Huzzah for me! I was afraid it was too boring, but your reviews have made me feel better. I'm not a huge fan of the Clark angst, but it can be useful occasionally._

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Chapter 7

Chloe could only gape at the faces of her "best" friend and her cousin. She had never seen them quite so angry at her before. "Excuse me?" she asked, somehow certain that she'd heard them wrong.

Lana immediately burst into tears, even though her attack stance didn't disappear."How could you, Chloe? You know that I've loved him since the first moment I met him!"

Lois wasn't far behind. "And I lived with him for six months! I can't believe you'd try and horn in on _my_ territory!"

Chloe scrambled to her feet to give herself more mobility. Clark hovered beside her anxiously, but he obviously didn't know what to do. She knew that with his upbringing, he wasn't going to be able to actually hit a girl without feeling some major guilt later. It didn't help that he wasn't always so savvy when it came to his relationships with girls. "Lana, you've gotten together and broken up with Clark so many times that it makes absolutely no difference. You aren't together now, so you really need to get over it! And don't even make me go into why that statement is so ludicrous!"

"What have I been telling you, Lana?" Lois sneered. "You had your chance and lost it. He's mine now…"

"Lois, you're just as bad. You lived with his _parents_ for six months and did jack sh... err, nothing to hide your absolute disdain for him from the moment you met him. And what are you doing here? You went to Geneva with Uncle Sam!"

Lana snorted and both Chloe and Clark stared at her because of the inelegant sound coming from her and how impossible that seemed. "She came running back a month ago and now she's trying to horn in on my action."

Chloe's mind raced. There was nothing she could say to reason them out of this. What exactly was she supposed to do? When it hit her, she almost laughed at the simplicity. She wrapped her arms around Clark's arm again and smirked. "You both had your chance and didn't take it. It's my turn now and you shouldn't begrudge him _his_ choice." Clark coughed in agony and she squeezed as hard as she could to make sure he kept his farm boy mouth shut.

The two girls turned hopeless eyes to Clark. "Did you really choose her?" they whined, once again in unison. Chloe shuddered because it really seemed like two robotic Barbie dolls were talking in front of her but wearing the faces of Lana and Lois. She pressed her foot on top of his so he'd give the appropriate response.

He freed his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "I'm afraid so. Chloe and I were visiting and I realized how much I liked her. We've decided to try dating for awhile." Chloe stared up at him with what she hoped was a rapturous look instead of one of incredulous disbelief. She never would have guessed that he was such a fabulous actor. She almost believed that he wanted to date her… and _that_ was impossible.

"If you say so, Clark," they said, still in unison. Chloe shuddered slightly and Clark squeezed her shoulder in sympathy. They both could feel the unnatural quality of this discussion, but they had to remain objective if they were to figure out what was wrong.

Lana turned to Chloe with a smile. "So, Chloe… Your usual?" Her attitude had gone from dejected to chipper too quickly and Chloe wondered if she was going to be poisoned. She looked at her and noticed that all aggression had totally been wiped from their attitude. If they'd been computers, she would have said that their response protocol said that once Clark declared something to be true then it was considered by all to be true… and to openly attack someone he'd declared he was interested in would be abhorrent for them. She was kinda' glad Clark had gone along with her.

"If that would be okay, Lana..." Chloe responded, giving her a small smile.

Lois laughed. "Of course its okay, Chlo! Let me just whip one up for you…"

"And I'll take you to your table, Clark." Lana made no further move to cozy up to Clark and just matter-of-factly guided them to a prime table. Chloe noticed another reserved sign and just managed not to roll her eyes. They sat down and Lana bustled off, playing the business owner card to the hilt.

Chloe and Clark sat in the booth like they normally would have, but Clark scooted up close. Chloe looked at him in shock, but realized that it was all part of their performance. "Clark, how long has _that_ been going on?" Chloe sub-vocalized.

Because she didn't have his super-hearing, he nuzzled her ear to whisper in it. "You're getting really good at that, Chloe?"

She shivered at the sensations that coursed down her spine as his breath caressed her ear and neck. _This may not have been my best idea ever…_"It gets easier with practice… but don't avoid the subject. Have they been throwing themselves at you since I left?" His lips brushed her ear and she thought she was going to faint. She tried to keep her attention on his words instead of what she was feeling. After all, it was just an act and if she didn't keep it "professional", she'd be really hurting when she went back to school.

"About that long. I thought Lois was making fun of me, but when she insisted that I take my room back and then I find her naked in my bed, I knew something was wrong. Lois hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, Clark. She just doesn't have much patience for those of the rural community… although she's spent enough time here…"

"And don't forget that she never forgave me for hurting you freshman year…" He sounded regretful, and she was sorry she couldn't see his face.

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes. Thankfully, it would go unnoticed or as expected behavior. "Clark, I had just talked about it too much…"

"That can't be it, Chlo, and you know it." He inhaled deeply. _What is that scent she's wearing? _He could hardly think straight with his nose buried in her hair. He really wanted to kiss her and had to remind himself frequently that they were just putting on an act.

Chloe didn't want to discuss it any further. He didn't know that she had frequently cried on the phone to her cousin before and after the safe house had exploded… not because she thought it'd swell his head, but more because she didn't want him to feel sorry for her. There was nothing worse than pity for your feelings toward someone who didn't reciprocate them. Lana brought their drinks and she was grateful for the moments of silence. Finally she knew they had to get going. This day wasn't going to last forever and they needed to find out the source of this Clark mania. She yawned and wondered briefly if the flight into town had somehow overexcited her."Clark, we need a plan of attack. You can't hang out with me while I ask questions because I'll never get the answers I need. Have you talked to Lex about this?"

"Are you kidding?" Clark demanded, once again burying his face within her hair to hide not only his words, but also his outraged expression. "I haven't talked to him since the hostage situation."

Chloe looked around to make sure no one was noticing their strange behavior, but everyone seemed preoccupied in their own problems and stuff… besides the occasional worshipful glances in his direction… normal as they could be in this situation. "Clark, all that was circumstantial evidence. There's no concrete proof that Lex had ordered the video monitoring… And because it _is _his company, of course he'd have access to the recording! You shouldn't have hit him and, while I don't think you should trust him, cutting off all contact…"

"Chloe, he could have killed us or Mom and Dad or Lana…" Clark's voice was fierce and he was shaking. Chloe had never known him to be quite so angry. It actually made her rather nervous._ Thank goodness I've never made him quite that mad…_

"But none of that happened, Clark. Not one. You got scorched by a laser and that's it." She put her hand on his. "And how many times has he proved himself to be your friend? Just give him another chance. Don't write off your friendship because you're angry…"

Clark had stilled completely when Chloe's hand had covered his. He had been consumed by a desire to take her into his arms and kiss her until they were both breathless. He had managed to suppress it earlier, but nowit had returned full-force. He was finding it hard to concentrate on her words, and it took a moment beforehe really understood what she was saying. "You're asking a lot, Chloe."

"But nothing you can't deliver on, Clark. Why don't you go talk with Lex and gauge his attitude and I'll gather info in town. We can meet in your loft like we'd planned to share what we find." Chloe felt better now that they could form a plan of attack, but found she was getting more and more distracted by his close proximity. To keep her wits about her, she needed to get some distance.

"You're right. If he's on the 'Clark for President' bandwagon, then we know this is even worse news." He leaned back and smiled at her. "Okay, so I'll come and pick you up in a couple hours, right, honey? That should give you time to do some shopping and visiting… Maybe Lana and Lois could go with you…"

Chloe smiled, but inwardly she was seething. _Honey? Did he really just call me honey? That's all the endearment I get during our little play here? His performance would have been better if he had been playacting withLana..._"Oh, I don't want to take Lana and Lois away from their jobs. I'll figure out something to do while you go and visit with Lex." To pay him back for his lukewarm attitude, she kissed him on his cheek and scooted away from him so he couldn't decide he needed a better response. "We'll meet here, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan, hon. I'll see you in two hours, then." Clark smiled at her. He knew that his "honey" had irritated her beyond all bounds because she's not really the generic platitude kinda' girl, but it had been too perfect. His restraint had almost melted when her lips had met his cheek, but he was sure he was just overreacting, considering the situation.

As he drove to the Luthor estate, he pondered their relationship. He had always been afraid of tainting their friendship with romance and it had almost spelled the end when he and Lana had gotten together the first time. After that disaster, he'd always made sure they'd had a strong platonic relationship so that kind of disaster never happened again. But it didn't help that his feelings for her had been evolving over their entire senior year. Oh, sure. He'd still pined over Lana, but was that due more to habit than from any real feeling? And their relationship after the meteor shower… It had been intense and he'd been happy to be "normal" with her...

But Chloe had been the one to accept him for all he was and had even kept her secret about his secret from everyone, him included, for months before her knowledge had been revealed. Deep down, he knew that he could never expect Lana to accept him if she knew _all_ about him. When his powers had returned, that had been the wedge to end it all… besides the fact that he couldn't allow her to see him without the bandage or the jig would have truly been up. They never seemed to recapture their romance at its first blush and she started being suspicious of everything that wasn't easily explainable about him. Her demands for knowledge of his secret had increased daily until he couldn't stand it anymore. He'd started avoiding her until she'd finally called him on it and then broken up with him when he'd refused to bare his soul. Perhaps that's another reason he hadn't told her… Her insistence on knowing, even though it would have rocked her world so badly that he wasn't positive that she wouldn't go to the press with the news, had just made him refuse even harder to tell her. It wasn't the death of her parents in his arrival meteor storm… It was her nagging and inability to truly accept those that were different. It didn't help that he needed to go and follow through with his training like he'd promised before and couldn't explain such an extended absense.

He sighed. He'd spent years sighing after her and he now realized she was the furthest thing from a good match from him that could have been made. She didn't even share any of his interests… besides those that had centered on her. He sighed even deeper as he acknowledged to himself that he'd refused to admit that the attitude change had been occurring.

As he drove up to Lex's, he wondered how and when he'd started thinking of Chloe differently. He'd been trying to deny it, but it kept cropping up in the most unusual circumstances. But as the butler opened the door and told him where to find Lex, he knew that he needed to push the examination of those thoughts to another time.

He paused for a moment outside Lex's study. He knew he had overreacted that day after the kidnapping, but he had been so frustrated and anxious about not having his powers to fulfill Lee's demands that to realize it was probably a huge trap had sent him over the edge. It had also helped to prove to Lex that he was normal and not invulnerable. He wondered sometimes deep within his soul if he'd gone there and beat the crap out of one of his best friends to provoke Lex enough to hit him back… to prove to all that he was normal… himself included.He sighed. He knew he was going to have to apologize about that if they were to try and get their friendship off the ground again.

He knocked at the door and received an immediate summons to enter. He slowly opened the door, suddenly afraid of what his welcome would be. "Lex?"

"Holy shit! Clark? Is that really you?" Lex jumped up from his desk and quickly came up to Clark.

Clark took a deep breath. "Lex, I came to apologize for…"

"Clark, don't even worry about it?" Lex dragged him into a big bear hug and Clark could have sworn he'd felt tears on his neck. "I didn't think you were ever going to forgive me for hitting you…"

Clark pulled back and looked at Lex closely. "Lex, there's nothing to forgive. I'd hit you first and accused you of all those awful things without a lick of evidence…"

Lex laughed. "It's not like my behavior hadn't warranted all that suspicion. It's not like I'm a real Boy Scout like you… I blame it on my father, but sometimes I wonder if it isn't all me…" Lex guided him to the leather armchairs before the fire that was always roaring… even in the middle of summer. Clark wondered briefly if it had something to do with living encased in so much cold stone.

"Lex it's just that we were friends and I should never have accused you…" Clark tried again to apologize, but was shut down immediately.

"Don't worry about it, Clark. No doubt I deserved it. After all, someone with your abilities would never want to be in the lime light… to be looked at like a scientific specimen…"

"My… my abilities?" Clark could only gape at Lex.

Lex laughed, looking younger and more carefree with every giggle. "Clark, seriously. Of course I know… Everyone does! Who do you think brought up the measure to get you instated as the mayor and sheriff? Although if I hadn't done it, there would have been half a dozen other nominations… but you know me. I always want to be the first in everything… but now being the best is going to be beyond me forever." Lex smiled at Clark, apparently fully satisfied with the status quo.

Clark could only gape. He wanted to say something… deny that he had those powers that Lex now confessed he knew. How long he had known really didn't matter. But Chloe had said not to trust him… before and after his amnesia. "But…"

Lex stood and dusted his hands on his slacks. "Clark, don't be coy. We all know you'll do it eventually, so there's no need to beat around the bush. The big question is how much you're going to charge the taxpayers for the use of your services…" Clark tried to speak, but Lex waved him silent. "I think you should go for the premium, considering that you're truly unique. There's no one on Earth that could match you…"

Clark felt like crying. Lex knew his secret. Everyone knew his secret. His life of blissful anonymity was gone forever. And now Lex wanted to discuss his salary base for taking over the planet? He could have sworn Lex would have fought him on that one tooth and nail. He was glad he was sitting down so his distress didn't show in his stance. He decided that the ruling issue needed to be decided once and for all. "Lex, listen to me. I don't want to be in charge. I don't want to be mayor… or sheriff… or governor."

Lex's smile turned even more serene. "Ah, I should have known! Righting the wrongs in one small state isn't enough of a challenge to someone of your abilities. I'll get started on those 'Kent for President' ads tonight!"

Clark groaned. "Lex, you're not listening. I don't want that kind of power. Just drop it!"

Lex's smile turned to a concerned frown. "Clark, just think of all the good you could do… It would be wrong to turn your back on it."

"Lex, that much power would be too tempting for anyone, let alone someone with my abilities." Clark looked at his watch and got up. He was early to pick up Chloe, but he would rather rip off his own arm then discuss fictional political aspirations. "Just drop it, Lex. I'll see you later."

As he walked out of the manor, he decided that this had to be artificial. There would be no way Lex would want to be the support to his "power base". Lex craved approval from society in general and had always seemed willing to do nearly anything to achieve it. When he was safely in the truck, he headed back to town. "There's no way this is natural," Clark muttered. He wondered if he was repeating that to himself because it was true or because he was trying to convince himself. "How did all these people know and why would they be throwing such power at me? Especially considering their history of dealing with meteor freaks…"

Shortly, he reached the Talon and went inside. Lana and Lois stared at him, wide-eyed, as he entered. He wondered if it was his imagination or if they really did pale a bit as he walked in. Even in this bizarre world he was in, that seemed really unnatural. "Hey! What's up?"

"We didn't do it, Clark," Lana muttered hurriedly, earning a disgusted glare from Lois.

Clark smiled. _What? Are they worried I'm going to be mad about another stack of gifts? They've been great donations to various worthy causes, so what does it really matter other than it's unnatural?_ "Ah, come on… It can't be that bad." He moved around Lois towards "his" table and felt his own eyes widen. Chloe was slumped onto the tabletop and he wondered briefly if she'd even left the Talon. "Chloe!" he exclaimed as he rushed to her side.

She moaned at his voice, but her eyes didn't open. He turned on the other two girls and implacable ire was snapping in his eyes. "What happened?" he growled.

The Talon fell silent and everyone turned to witness the tableau before them. Clark would have been unnerved by all the attention if he hadn't been so concerned about Chloe. The girls cowered before him, but he was giving them no opportunity to escape before they answered his question. Lois recovered first, which was natural considering her independent nature. "Just after you left, she sort of fell asleep at the table. We're worried because we can't wake her up." Lana nodded her agreement.

Clark looked at them, every sense open to detecting if they were lying. He was surprised that he could discern no touch of deception from them… no flushing of the face… no increased heart rate… no delay while searching for the appropriate answer… He nodded decisively and picked up Chloe in his arms. He was surprised at how light she was in his arms. "I'll see you guys later."

"Clark, do you think she'll be okay?" Lois's concern was unfeigned for her cousin and Clark unbent enough to try and smile reassuringly at her.

"It was a long trip from Metropolis and we didn't get much sleep last night." He cringed at how salacious that sounded. "I mean…"

"Don't worry about it, Clark," Lana chirped, suspiciously unconcerned about how it sounded. "Just get her taken care of."

He decided that discretion was the better part of valor and moved out the door. He briefly considered taking her to the hospital, but they were all just as deluded as the rest of the town and she may actually just be tired… He loaded her into the truck and quickly drove her to his house. He didn't want to "bother" his parents so took her directly up to the loft. He laid her on the sofa and stood for a moment over her, dithering about what he should do next. However, before he could make any decision, she started to move. He knelt at her side, holding her hand. He prayed that this wasn't just noise she made during dreaming. He desperately needed to talk to her.

Within minutes, her eyes fluttered open and she looked straight into his face. A smile that took his breath away with its beauty crossed her face. "Clark…" she breathed. He smiled in relief but didn't have time to resist when she dragged his head down to hers and started kissing him fiercely.

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_**A/N:** What can I say…? It had to happen… You know it did._

_KentCharm: I agree that Chloe kicking their cans would be good, but at this point, they are hoping to save them and know that they're not acting normally. So to have kick butt action happening now would be a little premature._

_iluvsmallville1: You're welcome about being mentioned… but I would have done it anyway. I honestly think that reviewing is something that helps fellow writers and encouragement is always needed by all. So, for those that take an extra minute or two to say something (even if it was a "You suck!") deserve acknowledgement for pressing that little button._

_I'm very glad you like my story. What's funny is that I identify so closely with Chloe… I definitely don't feel that way with either Lana or Lois._

_I would love to explain to you how to enter a story, but to explain it here would be a little confusing. Send me an e-mail and I'll give you what step-by-step instructions I can. :D_

_Winthjo: I think that's kinda' what I was going for… an "Invasion" mixed with a little "Stepford". The story's not completely written, but we'll see what I do. :D_

_MarkMark261: Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate your picky proofreading? I try and read them through once or twice before I post them, but you've been challenging me to make them even more grammatically correct. (On a side note, I always put an apostrophe after "gonna'" because it's a contraction. Isn't that funny? I try and make slang grammatically correct:D)_

_My personal beef with my short chapters was just that I was so used to trying to make each chapter long and with this one it was a bunch of snippets. Do I get irritated with others' short chapters? Nope. In fact, sometimes they're rather nice. I guess I'm just harder on myself… :D But I'm glad you like it. ;D_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:** I just want it understood that I kinda' wish Lois would disappear. She shouldn't be on "Smallville" besides in very brief instances and she shouldn't have such an in-depth relationship with Clark already. It's not right. In my head (even though I know it'll never happen in a million billion years), I kinda' have Chloe written in as "Lois" by using her cousin'sname as a pen name. I've decided not to kill off Lois because she's already too established in the "Smallville" mythos. But it's making me decidedly crabby. OK, I just had to get that off my chest. (Oh, and if anyone knows where I could find a copy of Lois's stripper episode… My TiVo recorded "Dr. Phil" instead:O)_

_For an explanation on the Lana/Lois pushing of Chloe, they both have claims on Clark's affection, but through different circumstances and other reasons, their "relationships" don't work. Ever since Season 1, I've rooted for a Clark/Chloe relationship and have been disappointed around every turn. I can only hope that the writers come to their senses soon, but Kristen seems to have quite the formidable agent!

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**Chapter 8**

Clark could feel himself being borne away on a wave of sensation that he had no desire to resurface from. Even their first kiss hadn't held such promise and longing. The firebrand that was his best friend and the girl that had always loved him was kissing him with abandon. The woman that he had admired through high school and was coming to appreciate moreas time wore on was everything that he'd secretly wanted. Her hands wandered through his hair, across his chest and up his back, dragging him closer with each stroke.

He almost complained as she broke the kiss. Her eyes smoldered with desire for him and he suddenly felt unworthy. "Chloe…" he began.

She silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Clark, just shut up. I need you. Take me, I'm yours!" She started peeling his shirt off his body.

He felt as if he was bursting into flames as she touched his bare skin. An alarm was sounding in the back of his brain, but every motion of her hand 'caused his mind to veer back to how she was making him feel. She was pressing light kisses along his neck and coherent thought was no longer possible. With a sudden strength, she pushed him over onto the floor and straddled him. The feel of the wood against his back shocked him back to reality. "Chloe, you were hurt. We should…"

"You always want to wait, Clark." She smiled at him from above. "You ponder each and every option until the opportunity has nearly passed you by… if you don't miss it completely. Don't you want to take what's yours?"

She captured his mouth again, but that last sentence resounded in his mind over and over until it wouldn't leave him alone. Reluctantly, he broke their kiss. "Chloe, what do you mean 'take what's yours'?"

She looked at him and confusion was written all over her face. "It's fairly obvious, isn't it, Clark?" Her fingers still traced a pattern over his chest as she thought how to explain it. "Clark, you're the most powerful person on the planet. You shouldn't feel like you have to earn every little thing. Everyone loves you and will give you anything you want. Just let it come… You've earned it…"

Clark felt as if he had just been doused with cold water and shuddered. He concentrated on her touch and realized she was tracing the exact shape he'd had of that scar junior year. "Chloe…" He wanted to sob at how this was turning so horribly wrong. "Chloe, you've got to snap out of it…"

"Why would I want to, Clark? I've wanted you forever and now you've chosen me. Do you know how that makes a girl feel? I feel like I've won the lottery, Publisher's Clearinghouse and Miss America in one fell swoop." She laughed in delight. Bending down, she whispered as she hovered over his lips, "And I'm not letting you go again…"

Clark looked at her in dismay. After all of the incidences in high school where he'd crushed her feelings as if they meant nothing, even though it was always unintentional, he couldn't bear to hurt her so deeply now. He had to think of something so she wouldn't hate him forever once he found the cure. "Chloe, my parents would be scandalized."

"Come on, Clark. After the whole Lana incident, I don't think that will be a problem." She smiled and started kissing his neck again.

Clark could feel his restraint starting to come unglued. He didn't have much more time before his hormones burst entirely out of control. "Chloe, how about we go for a flight? I'm really in the mood?"

She squealed in delight. "Clark! Could we really?" When he nodded, she rewarded him with another soul searing kiss, jumped to her feet and dashed to the loft's window. "Let's go!"

Clark smiled, but took his time getting up from the ground. He wasn't feeling too steady at the moment. He buttoned up his shirt and dug around for another of his flannels. "Chloe, why don't you put this on? I don't want you getting too cold."

She gave him a huge hug for a reward. "Clark, you're always looking out for me. What would I ever do without you?" She allowed him to bundle her into his shirt and button it up.

"I was thinking the same thing, Chloe." He smiled. This was one of the best ideas he had… especially since he only had one other resource to tap before he totally ran out of options. "Are you ready?"

She just nodded in excitement and he gathered her in his arms. With no additional effort, he lifted out of the barn and started going north. After 10 minutes of steady flying, she asked, "Clark, where are you taking me?" Clark put on a little more speed. He didn't think that the brainwashing would allow him to take a victim to a place where a cure could possibly be found… and he didn't want to hurt Chloe if she started to struggle. As the landscape below them turned into a steady stream of white, she craned to look him full in the face and demanded, "Clark, you tell me right this second where we're going or turn around."

He sighed. "We're going to the Fortress, Chlo. I want to fulfill my promise."

Just as he thought, the mention of the Fortress started to make Chloe struggle to be free of his embrace. He wondered if she didn't realize that she could plunge to her death at this height or if,in her current state, she just didn't care. "Take me home right now, Clark Kent. I don't want to see that icky Fortress." When he refused to answer her, he felt her still and knew she was going to try a different tactic. After all, she may have been brainwashed, but she was probably still Chloe deep down inside. "There are much more romantic places to go, Clark." She started to unbutton his shirt and kiss whatever skin she could reach. "Wouldn't it be more fun to go to Paris?"

Clark felt himself be tempted and the thought of having Chloe alone in Paris was enough to almost undo his resolve. But this wasn't the real Chloe… no matter how she looked or sounded. He shifted his grip on her so it was more secure and sighed. "Chloe, you said you wanted to meet my father…"

Chloe's struggles increased exponentially and she began to strike out at him. If he hadn't been invulnerable, she could have seriously hurt him. As the Fortress first came into sight, really just a speck on the horizon, she screamed… a scream filled with anger, loss and pain. She whispered, "Clark…" before going totally limp in his arms.

Clark almost panicked, but just poured on enough speed to get to the Fortress as fast as he could and not hurt the girl in his arms. Never in a million years would he have thought that he wouldn't be able to go to his Dad and would instead turn to his biological Father.

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_**A/N:** I was complemented for something that I just wanted to comment on really quick. I'm not a huge fan of Lana. The girl gets straight on my nerves and I get cranky fast with Lana-centric "Smallville" episodes. But I think that's mostly because of what the PTB have done with her character in this incarnation. In the comics and the movies, Lana was never like this. Maybe that's why I get so irritated. But I don't Lana bash, unless in a definite parody, because I think it's too easy. That's why I write "Smallville" reviews on my own website where I can do some bashing to my heart's content. :D_

_iluvsmallville1: I hope my instructions were helpful. And I'm very glad you approve of my treatment of Lana. I wasn't quite so nice to her during my first two fan fics (#1 had her buried in garbage. #2… well, I don't know how to explain her character during "Clarky Horror", but I loved it.) but I gave my reasons why I don't do huge Lana bashing during my Chlark fan fics in the above paragraph. :D_

_Oh, and I'm glad I could help! I really do look forward to reading your stuff!_

_qoite: Ahhhhh! A new reviewer! How fantastic! I share your fears that they're going to get rid of Chloe, and I would be seriously upset if this did happen. Perhaps that's why I write so Chlark strong. It drives me crazy that Lana's still on and Lois has inexplicably appeared when Chloe is a better character than both put together. (Breathe, Sara. Breathe!) Hopefully, the PTB don't do the unthinkable… Thanks for the support!_

_MarkMark261: As always, your proofing is much appreciated. It's annoying sometimes that even withall the effort you put into your work and still stuff gets missed. It definitely makes it seem that multiple proofings are really needed. (And the robotic Lana… Well, how can you not love that?)_

_KentCharm: Ahhhhh… A new "convert"… How lovely! (Please picture Sara rubbing her hands together with evil glee.) Maybe it is how the girls felt, but hopefully not… but you'll just have to wait and see about the "saving" part:D_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N:** What is wrong with the PTB? Why are Clark and Lana still together? If he can't be honest with her about his origins and powers, what is their relationship based on? I'd do a spot of Lana bashing, but I guess it's not really her fault… but ooooo! If I get those writers in my clutches…_

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Chapter 9

Chloe felt as if she was coming to the surface of a deep lake. Her head and body hurt abominably and she was certain that, if she had eaten anything in the last four hours, it was going to make a reappearance. She moaned as every nerve ending seemed to be on fire and she felt a cool cloth being placed on her burning forehead. She forced her eyelids open as she whispered, "Dad?"

The face that greeted her was even more welcome than her father's would have been. Clark smiled down at her and she felt herself responding, although forming a smile hurt almost as much as if she'd just tried to lift a ton of bricks on her own. "How're you feeling, Chloe?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "How am I…? Clark, have you ever heard the term 'put through the wringer'? Well, I feel like I've been through that wringer an even dozen times…"

He laughed. She could tell by the lines around his eyes and mouth that he'd been worried and that touched her heart. When the laughter melted away, she was almost afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth. "Chloe, what do you remember?"

She looked at him like he'd just grown another head. "What do I…? Clark, what in the world are you talking about? You just left me at the Talon…"

He started to pace. "Come on, Chloe. I need you to try for me."

Chloe would have laughed at him if he hadn't been so agitated. She closed her eyes and thought back to the morning's events. "Well, we had breakfast with your mom… and went to the Talon. I have no idea what was up with Lois and Lana. You left for Lex's… and… and…" She could feel herself struggling against something… something that didn't want her to remember. "I was going to go and start the search, but I was feeling so tired that I put my head on the table for just a minute." A multitude of images crossed her mind… too quick for her to put them in any sort of context. The next one made her smile. "You were there when I woke up and you were so concerned…" She trailed off as the next images came and she sat bolt upright. She stared at Clark and could feel a blush starting from her toes, even while her head started reeling from the sudden motion. The memories kept coming and she thought she'd die of shame.

Clark tried to stop her from being too embarrassed. "Chloe, it's not your fault. You were under some sort of spell or something. You didn't mean any of it…"

Chloe blushed crimson. _If only you knew, Clark. I may not have intended to throw myself at you, but I couldn't fight very hard against something that I've secretly wanted for years…_ She could feel tears burning at her eyes and angrily brushed them away. This wasn't getting them any closer to an answer. "But why am I normal now? What happened to me?"

"It seems that you were under some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion," a disembodied voice answered her, making her jump. Her head throbbed in response and Clark, noticing her discomfort for once, forced her to sit back down. "And you have recovered because Kal-El brought you here for treatment."

"Who's that?" Chloe whispered, suddenly fearful. She clutched at Clark's hand. She'd had her mind meddled with before, but this felt more immediate somehow. Even when she and Clark had made out while they were under the influence of different substances, she'd still had her own opinions. This made her feel like a puppet on a string.

"My father, Jor-El," Clark answered, "or at least a computer simulation of what he would have sounded like."

"Correct, Kal-El. Miss Sullivan, you are currently blocked from the constant wave of influence that had invaded your mind." The voice paused and Chloe wondered why a computer would have to think about an answer. "Post-hypnotic suggestion is an over-simplification of what we are currently dealing with. A signal is being transmitted that works upon the human subconscious to adjust certain thinking and knowledge. I am unable to determine the exact source of the transmission because it is currently blanketing Smallville with too much of the signal and growing in its influence."

Chloe growled. _What did I expect from a Kryptonian machine?_ she thought angrily. "But you know it originates in Smallville. Do you know when? Why didn't you notice it before? Why didn't you warn Clark before he had to discover it on his own?" She bit out each accusation as if she were spitting out acid.

Clark's eyes widened. "He's not an omniscient machine, Chloe!"

Chloe snorted in derision and forced her way up so she could pace, ignoring the pain in her head. "But he seems to act like one, doesn't he? Always knowing what's best for you and Earth. As if he wasn't an 18-year-dead Kryptonian!"

"Chloe!" Clark gasped.

"It is all right, Kal-El," Jor-El said, and Chloe wondered if it was just her imagination that he sounded weary. "She has valid reasons for questioning my motives and fallacies. Miss Sullivan, one of the reasons that I did not notice the transmission was that I did not realize that there was a threat out there and because I had allowed myself to become wholly engrossed in Kal-El's training. I became aware of the transmission without realizing its true purpose shortly after Kal-El left the Fortress to return to Smallville."

Chloe thought about it. It definitely seemed plausible… and Clark was looking at her in a pleading manner over to the side. She didn't think she was being unreasonable in her anger. This _machine_ seemed to know a whole bunch… and a suspicion crawled into her mind and wouldn't let go. But she couldn't ask Clark where the computer could hear her… She wondered exactly what she should do so that she didn't get affected again… and decided she should just ask. "If I'm going to be any help to Clark in the investigation of this situation, I need to get some sort of immunity. Is that possible?"

Clark smiled. She knew he thought she was mellowing to Jor-El, and that worked for her. "I've been talking with Jor-El and we think there is." Clark came up to her and showed her a small clear disk, about an inch in diameter.

Chloe stared at it. "Clark, I know I've been told I have big eyes, but I'm never going to be able to fit that contact in."

When Clark started laughing, she had a sudden burning desire that he was mortal again so she could kick him right where it counts. As it stood, she could only glare at him without hitting him, but it still sobered him up pretty quickly. "Sorry, Chlo," he muttered and avoided her gaze for a moment. Rather than say anything further, he just stepped right up to her and brushed back her hair. She closed her eyes with the feeling, while a part of her was wondering what he was doing. He touched her temple gently and then stepped back. Chloe stood motionless for a few minutes, almost sighing in ecstasy. The pain… The pain was gone. She looked up at him in wonder. "Jor-El was able to create a patch that blocked out the transmission."

"And your headache is relieved, Miss Sullivan?" Jor-El sounded solicitous and Chloe could only wonder about it. He hadn't been so nice during their first encounter.

"In fact, it's gone. Why is that?" Chloe turned her eyes on Clark, who could only shrug. Chloe had to hide a smile. She really hadn't expected _Clark_ to know the answer. He was just more pleasant to look at and gave her something to focus her attention on while she was waiting for Jor-El to answer her.

"Even within the shielded confines of the Fortress, the transmission was reaching you. Our enemy does not like to give up those it has converted."

Chloe thought about it for a minute. That could be true and her reaction to going into the Fortress had totally not been her… which would make sense if the source of the transmission wasn't Jor-El. However, to gain her and Clark's trust, he could have just cut her out of the transmission and the Band-Aid that Clark had put on her temple was absolutely useless. However, because she didn't want Jor-El to think she suspected him, she answered, "Thanks, Jor-El. It's really blessed relief."

Clark smiled. With the relief from her headache, she wasn't quite so cranky… and that always made him happy. Plus, they had found a way to reverse the effects of the transmission. "Jor-El, how long will it take you to manufacture more of those disks?"

The room echoed in silence, which concerned both teens. When the voice returned, Chloe could tell that he felt distinctly apologetic… or at least was a good faker of the emotion. "Kal-El, I'm afraid that is not the solution."

Clark could feel the excitement of moments before drain into despair. "What do you mean? You fixed Chloe. At least if we put those disks on everyone we could just search for the source at our leisure."

Meanwhile, Chloe had been thinking furiously. When it came to her, it was quite an unwelcome shock. "Clark, there's no way we could have everyone in the world put on those disks. If we cured Smallville, it would seem really odd to see 'Clark Kent for President' signs in Las Vegas, where they've never even heard of you…"

"That would be correct, Miss Sullivan," Jor-El said, approval in his voice. "There is also another reason."

"What could that possibly be?" Clark asked.

"The transmission was a recent infection, if you will, in Miss Sullivan. However, the inhabitants of Smallville have been exposed to it for months now. Only the total cessation of the original transmission and a quick burst of the 'antidote' transmission that I will give you will turn your friends and family back to normal. Until that happens, you will notice an increase of the devotion of those good citizens towards you… Perhaps with frightening results."

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_**A/N:** I don't know if I have a bad self-image or what, but I'm totally plotzing that so many people are reading and reviewing my work. Thank you all so much for your efforts on my behalf. Hopefully your hard work and assistance will help me continue to grow and progress as a writer. :D_

_MarkMark261: I forgot to mention one thing about something in your proofing. Lee was a villain in the second (I think) episode of Season Five. I was actually really into that episode and really liked his character. :D_

_Good pick up on the flavor. It is a bit of "Nicodemus"… but I totally hadn't realized it. The difference is that it's not necessarily a release of emotion, but more a direct external direction on their behavior._

_Thanks for the note of proofing. When comes back online, I'll totally fix it:D OK, it's done! ;D_

_Joy: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I am trying to go a little ahead, but am trying to eek it out a little. It's better to wait a little than to overload ya'll and then have my story buried:D_

_Qotie: That's true that I kinda' jumped hard, didn't I? I guess I assumed (and you know what they say when you assume) that it would be "obvious" because of everyone else's behavior. :D_

_Don't worry about being clueless. In some ways, I'm almost not sure where I'm going with this. In fact, I usually let my characters lead me about by the nose. After all, they know what they should be doing oh so better that I do… :D_

_(Thanks for the complement though, __Chelsea__! I'm so glad you're enjoying it and that the characters are behaving like they "should" ;D)_

___KentCharm: You know, I think in some ways a lot of us feel that way about Lois and Lana… Because Lois has really showed no desire to go into journalism, I think Chloe at least using her name as her pen name would be the most logical conclusion. And we know that no one is safe, so we can only hope._

_My prejudice against Lana has been building steadily. I don't like her on-again, off-again attitude toward Clark__… and how everyone thinks she's soooooo "beautiful". Grrr… Oh, and don't forget that she gets everything she wants with little to no effort.__I want to smack her quite frequently… and smack __ Clark for still being enamored of her. But then we all know Clark isn't the most observant person in the universe… But as the season continues, I've been becoming more and more crabby about it. I suppose I should try and relax, right? It's just fiction…_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N:** Ah, yes. The cliffhanger ending where dire results are predicted, but no real explanation is put forth. Fabulous!_

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Chapter 10

Chloe and Clark flew away from the Fortress of Solitude, concerned by what Jor-El had revealed to them. They had both been concerned with the Kents' behavior… not to mention Lois and Lana practically attacking Chloe when they'd first walked into the Talon. But whenthey had realized that Clark's word became their law, they figured things would be on a certain status quo until they found the solution. However, Jor-El had warned them that demonstrations of dedication would most likely increase with possible violent consequences. It put even more urgency on their mission to find the source.

The trip was as quick as Clark could make it and it seemed as if only minutes had passed since they had left. Not a word had been exchanged between them while they had thought furiously about different possiblesolutions. Chloe clutched in her hands the copy of the antidote transmission Jor-El had given them and she wondered if it would do more harm than good. She hadn't gotten up the courage yet to discuss her suspicions with Clark. It didn't help that she was still mortified about her conduct while she was under the influence of the Transmission. So deep was she in her thoughts that she was totally startled as they landed near Crater Lake. "Clark, what are we doing here?"

He didn't answer her for a moment as he scanned the nearby forest for any eavesdroppers. He sank to the ground wearily, still silent. Chloe looked at him in concern and had been about to ask her question again when he finally answered. "I can't face them right now, Chlo."

His dilemma made itself clear to Chloe immediately and she found herself almost panicking at his obvious defeatist attitude. She sank down beside him and leaned against him as if to share comfort with him but not in an insistent way. She was gratified when his arm came around her shoulders and pulled her close. They looked out at the quiet water for a moment before Chloe responded. "Clark, you can't blame yourself."

He laughed, but in such a cynical way that it almost took Chloe's breath away by its sound of hopelessness. "Who _can_ I blame, Chloe? The Transmission seems dedicated to turning the entire planet into my loyal subjects. If I had just put the Elements together when Jor-El had first told me about them, this never would have happened! Or if I had just never come here…"

Chloe began to see red as each "what if" was posed. On the last one, she pushed him down onto the ground and sat on his stomach to keep him still. She knew he wouldn't toss her off and risk hurting her, so she was feeling pretty confident. "Clark Kent, you just stop that right now. Do you want me dead?"

His eyes snapped to her face in shock. "What are you…? Of course not, Chloe! What made you say such a thing?"

She wanted to smile, but maintained her stern face. "How many times have you saved my life, Clark? How many times over would I be dead if you hadn't come here and grown up here?"

Clark grimaced. "But Chloe, you wouldn't have been in danger if the meteor rocks that landed with me hadn't been here…"

"I beg to differ! That cop had _not_ been under the influence of kryptonite and if Lana hadn't seen me in those weird visions and you hadn't dug me out, I would have suffocated in that metal coffin!" She shuddered slightly at the memory, but shoved it back behind the door she kept all the memories she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on.

Clark could only gape at her. He wanted to argue the point with her, but she was absolutely right. That cop had gone crazy all on his own and if it hadn't been for him and Lana's meteor-induced visions, Chloe could have suffocated in that coffin. He'd been so freaked out about losing her that he could only focus on her. It had been the reason he'd been brave enough to ask her to the dance… which he had then ruined because he'd had to go running after Lana. "I hadn't meant…"

Chloe finally allowed her smile to come through. "I know you didn't, Clark, but a life lived by 'what ifs' is hardly a life at all. You have to enjoy life as it comes and face the difficulties as best you can." She made to get up off his chest, but his hands came to rest on the outside of her thighs and she stilled to stone.

He smiled at her… but in a shy and uncertain way. "Have I been living by 'what ifs', Chlo? What about my responsibilities?"

She tried to ignore her response to his touch and rolled her eyes. "Clark, there have only been a few times in your entire life where you've let everything around you go to pot while you did what you wanted." She didn't specify the summer of their sophomore year, but they both knew that was a significant part of what she was talking about. "And don't think I'm forgetting about you losing your powers at the beginning of the summer."

Clark closed his eyes. It had been a wonderful time, but he'd also felt the differences more painfully than he'd ever admit to anyone. "Chloe…"

"Clark, you have to let me finish. You kept telling me that you were happy without your powers and that you were satisfied to not play hero anymore. But you still did… It was like you couldn't help yourself." She smiled and cupped his cheek with her palm. "Clark, you could have just let the police handle Lee and the Wonder Twins… or insisted that we go straight to the Sheriff when Gabriel called me. But you didn't. Instead, you ran around with me, still trying to save our town and the ones we love. You've always been a hero, Clark. It's not about you being an alien… It's not about you having superpowers. It's really about who you are deep down, Clark, and how you were raised."

Clark looked up at Chloe and thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. They may have had their disagreements, but she'd always believed in him. She'd always trusted, evenbefore she knew about his powers, that he would always do his best to save her. He sat up slowly and smiled as she slid down his chest until she was sitting on his lap. She'd made a little squeak when he'd moved, but he kept her from toppling over. Her hand had dropped to his arms and he moved his hand to her cheek. As he brought his face closer and closer to hers, he whispered, "Chloe…"

As their lips edged closer and closer together, her eyes fluttered shut. "Clark…" she breathed a second before their lips connected. The moment his lips touched hers, Chloe's world burst into Technicolor. She suddenly felt as if she'd been roaming through her life half-asleep. It was a simple kiss, but rocked her world off its axis. She felt as if all her senses had developed superpowers of their own and she could clearly smell the pine trees around them and the water of the lake.

Clark tugged her as close as he dared, always aware of how fragile this strong woman actually was. His heart sang as he realized that she was right there with him… that she wasn't being influenced in any way to return his kiss. He smiled and Chloe surfaced to look at him. "I wasn't sure…" he stuttered, suddenly shy of his best friend.

Chloe was shocked… absolutely and completely shocked. _He wasn't…_ He'd been her first love in Smallville and it really hadn't changed over the years. "Clark," she sighed again and would have tackled him to the ground if he hadn't been super strong. She kissed him again and put every emotion into that kiss to tell him.

With her abandon, their walls of restraint were suddenly down. Her fingers trembled as she struggled to unbutton his shirt. Each time her fingers touched his skin, she could hear him gasp a little and it made her smile. For neither of them was this sort of thing new… but she found that she was getting shy as his hands also reached for the buttons on the shirt she was wearing. At the top button, he pulled back and looked at her with questioning eyes. She melted with the vulnerability in them and could have denied him absolutely nothing. It didn't take long before both his shirts laid on the ground beside them.

Chloe began pressing kisses along his collarbone and she could feel his temperature rising with each kiss. Before she could go any further, he brought her up for another soul-shattering kiss. She wondered hazily if she would ever be the same again. When they gasped for air, he smiled. "It's just not fair…"

Chloe looked at him in confusion. "What in the world…?"

He laughed and she looked at him in shock. She'd never heard him sound quite so carefree before. He looked at the chemise she was wearing and placed one hand on his bare chest. His eyes spoke volumes and she giggled in response. But her eyes met him in seriousness and put her hands on the hem of her shirt, joining his own. She blushed as the shirt slowly came over her head and she wanted to close her eyes in case he was somehow disappointed. But bravery from some unknown source came to the surface and she looked at his face. The awe she saw there made her want to weep with joy. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in a choked voice.

Chloe heaved a sigh of relief and kissed him again. They both shuddered as their bare chests came together for the first time and Chloe wondered briefly if there was any way they were going to be able to take this slow.

But just before he rolled them over, they heard a shriek from entirely too close. "Clark!"

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_**A/N:** Life is moving too fast… and the holidays coming up… Argh! But I'm still working on the story… If I'm a little slow in updating, I'm sure ya'll will forgive me eventually:D_

_iluvsmallville1: I'm so sorry I missed your review last chapter! I did thoroughly enjoy dumping Lana in garbage. I'd do it every story, but that would be redundant… :D_

_And I am so glad you're still liking my stuff. That makes me happy! ;D_

_MarkMark261: No typos… again? HOORAY! (And you're right, Author's Notes don't count… ;D) For his age, I was thinking more along the lines that he was put in the shuttle before he turned a year old. As advanced as their technology was, I'm not sure I buy that the trip was nearly instantaneous. I figured a year or two would work… Also, if you've noticed everyone seems to just be turning whatever age at the beginning of the school year (i.e. freshman year – 15, sophomore year – 16, junior year – 17, senior year – 18) so that's where I was going with that._

_The patch… Well, you could tell that Chloe was rather suspicious of Jor-El as well. I'm not EXACTLY sure where I'm going to go with that, but you know… same thing with the source of the Transmission. I guess we'll see where Chloe and Clark take me on this adventure… :D_

_KentCharm: Oh my goodness! I'm so jealous! You're teacher is so lucky! I've always wondered how much of his incredible good looks is due to make-up or what, but really… That man is so **GORGEOUS**!_

_I will absolutely cliff if Clark and Lois get together this season. It's not right… I don't care if they are rewriting some of the mythos. It's just not kosher. (GOT THAT, PTB! STOP IT! I'M ALREADY SICK OF DEALING WITH THE LANA RELATIONSHIP! IF YOU THROW IN LOIS… I'LL HOLD MY BREATH 'TIL I PASS OUT! Yeah, like that'll make them see sense…) (Sara pushes back her hair that had turned Einstein on her and straightens up… Her fingers are bruised from tapping so angrily with the keys and she wipes away those angry tears. "It's just not right," she mutters distractedly to herself. She gets up and grabs a cup of egg nog to calm her nerves…)_

_I've been thinking about working on individual fansites. I have a website, but it's so varied that it would probably be better to work on little individual ones… Hmmm… Now that I have my computer back, maybe that's a possibility… :D_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N:** As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't go through with a consummation scene. I have a friend that reviews "Smallville" and he has some real opinions (that I agree with) about the subject. Not that he's a prude (far from it), but he didn't think it meshed well with the Superman character and what we've grown up knowing about Clark. But that doesn't mean that he can get a little action… and doesn't Chloe deserve it?_

_Now, before you start reading… Who do you think interrupted them?_

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Chapter 11

Chloe's head snapped around with the new voice. Behind her, she saw the white faces of Lana and Lois. _What? Are they joined at the hip now?_ she wondered caustically. _Why are they here? What did they see?_ She was blushing bright red and couldn't figure out how to stay covered other than remain within Clark's protective embrace. _Why couldn't they have waited an hour?_ She buried her face in Clark's neck. She could just believe she'd fallen into his arms so quickly given how she'd always felt about him, but she couldn't face another encounter with the twin Ls.

Clark stared at the two girls who were staring at them accusingly. When Chloe had buried her face in his neck, his anger rose quickly… not only for interrupting them, but for causing Chloe embarrassment. She didn't deserve it… and especially not from them. He stared at Lana and mentally dared her to say anything. Their break-up had been mutual because he'd started hiding his true nature again and she had been terrified of him dying… again. Clark quietly admitted to himself that then and now he had outgrown his youthful passion of his childhood crush. After the meteor shower, they'd resumed their relationship and taken it to the next level, but couldn't get beyond their old complaints. However, their behavior over the last couple of days was quickly ramping up his temper… Something he tried to keep a firm grip on at all times. "What do you two want?" he barked. When they flinched, he felt a warm satisfaction instead of the embarrassment he normally would have burned with.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised that Lois was the first to recover. "This _is_ a public lake… We came to go swimming."

He looked at her appraisingly. If they hadn't been fully dressed and carrying nothing that said picnic or dip in the lake, he might have bought it. He rolled his eyes. Was it really worth confronting them about it? "Whatever," he sighed. "Just turn around for a moment, please."

Lana looked at him and pouted. "Why? It's not like we haven't seen this type of thing before," she snarled. "And if you didn't want to be seen, why would you be doing that type of thing here? At least _I_ always had a sense of decorum during our interludes!"

Chloe turned and looked at the other girl over her shoulder. This was getting entirely out of hand. She got up from the ground and put her hands on her hips. _Fine, if she wants me to be embarrassed for a perfectly natural thing happening between two people, she can just look as much as she wants. I have nothing to be embarrassed about!_ "That's right, Lana. _Your_ decorum included coming downstairs from Clark's room and running into his parents… then running out the door as soon as Mr. Kent barked at you." At Lana's shocked gasp, Chloe laughed cynically. "What? Did none of your time running around killing people as Isobel put some steel in your backbone? Why don't you just go back to the Talon where you can hold court and tell everyone how badly you've been treated…? After all, why veer from tradition?" She bent over and picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head.

"Chloe!" Lois gasped, her hand against her heart.

When Chloe's head reemerged from the material, she turned on her cousin. "Don't even get me started with you, Lois. I'd have quite a few hard truths for you if you weren't my cousin. You have never liked Clark or shown _any_ interest in him and now you want me to believe you have some sort of relationship? Forget it! You have your job at the Talon and maybe you can go _comfort_ Lana." She had had just about enough of this and her patience was running thin. "Clark's chosen to be with me. If you can't handle that, maybe you should get out of town."

Clark could only stare at the beauty that was Chloe. _Why has it taken me so long to realize what a strong person she was and how much I am attracted to her? Have I been such a follower that I couldn't realize that Chloe was worth a million Lanas?_ He watched the two girls beat a hasty retreat and applauded Chloe with great glee. "Man, you were great, Chloe!"

She looked at him strangely for a moment before taking a bow. Now that they were alone again, the attraction between them cropped up again, pulling her into his arms. She moved back a step for good measure. "Clark, I don't know if we should be doing this…" she murmured quietly, licking her lips with nerves.

Clark got to his feet and started toward her. All he really wanted was Chloe in his arms and now she was trying to run away? "Chloe," he said softly, reaching out his hand for her. "We didn't do anything wrong…"

Chloe looked at the earnest young man before her and could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Clark, it's not that we did anything wrong… and it's not that I'm embarrassed about getting caught. It's just… Don't you think it's odd how we practically fell to it, totally forgetting our mission? That there's a timeframe now? Especially since this is a brand new feeling between us…?" She looked down. It had been her wildest dream come true, but she had to take into account that Clark might be falling under the spell of the transmission… or, if Jor-El was the source, they'd both been influenced while being at the Fortress.

Clark's heart started to pound within his chest. _Is Chloe going to run away from me? I can't imagine what I'd do if she…_ He shut off that destructive train of thought as quickly as he could. Lana had accused him of being clingy when he'd started having to hide things from her again. She'd stated it as one of the reasons for their final break-up. He didn't want to start that trend with Chloe, even though he had few, if any, secrets from her. He decided that being reassuring would be the best course of action. "Chloe, this isn't a brand new feeling and you know it."

She glared at him. "If you're talking about my high school crush on you, Mr. Kent, you can just…"

Clark held up his hands in defense. "Chloe, that's not what I meant and you know it. I had some pretty strong feelings for you freshman year… That's why I'd asked you to the spring dance…"

"And left me standing on the dance floor to run after Lana." She had tried to inject some humor into her rejoinder, but it totally fell flat. She looked at him with stricken eyes. "Clark, I didn't mean… I know why you went after Lana…"

Clark looked at her seriously. He had known that this was when their troubles had begun… both as a couple and as friends… but he had hoped they'd been past it. This was going to keep cropping up if they didn't face it. "Chloe," he tried to be gentle, but he knew that the hurt was still leaking through. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Chloe, after the tornado, you ran off for the summer. And when you came back…" This had always been his problem when he thought of a relationship with Chloe. "When you came back, you said that it had all been a mistake and we should just be friends. You didn't even give me a chance to explain back then… I couldn't even tell you that I would have much rather been with you at the dance than chasing after Lana. If she hadn't gotten hurt, I would have been back at your side within minutes…"

Chloe closed her eyes. That dance had been branded in her heart and she wasn't sure if she was ever going to forget it. "Clark, I know… I was just thinking that myself earlier. It's just that I was so hurt that you'd 'choose' Lana over me that I decided to try and salvage our friendship… and couldn't give you the opportunity to suggest it to me… It would have broken my heart." Tears began streaming underneath her closed eyes and coursed down her face.

Clark's heart broke to see them… but he was also a bit angry that she hadn't even given him a chance to explain or anything. "You didn't trust me…"

Chloe looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. "Never that, Clark. I just had my abandonment issues and the fear that I wasn't good enough for you."

Clark was floored. _She wasn't good enough for me? And how could she think that? Chloe's the most self-aware and confident girl I know!_ He watched her for a moment and noticed she was trembling. He took her hand and pulled her gently toward one of the benches that occasionally appeared on the shore of a lake. When they were comfortable, he put his arm around her shoulder and she sighed and leaned against him. "You still have that fear, don't you, Chlo? You're afraid that when I don't need you for this mission any more, I'll go back to Lana or, worse, get interested in Lois."

_Where did that insight come from?_ Chloe wondered, gazing up at him in shock. _He was never this understanding in high school._ "Maybe you're right, Clark, but I've never really blamed you for it. I know what and who I am… I'm not the easiest person to be around."

He laughed. "Like I am? Let's see, you're put in danger regularly because of me, you accidentally get dragged into the vortex and plunged in the Artic, you were in danger of losing yourself… Oh, and don't forget the years of lying to you so I could 'keep' my 'secret'."

She joined in his laughter for a minute. "You're right, you are too much trouble." She made a move to stand and would have walked away if he hadn't had her hand captured in his. But then something he said triggered something within her… "Clark, you know that the entire town knowing your secret isn't too far-fetched, right? I mean, you've saved a lot of people and put a lot of people in Belle Reeve. In fact, it's damn near miraculous that the entire world doesn't know that Clark Kent is a superhero… or at least an alien."

"You're right," he said softly. "I've pondered that a lot but I couldn't stop helping people. That would have been nearly criminal."

"Not to most of the population," Chloe snarked. She looked at him consideringly. "You know, it wouldn't be that hard to put you in some sort of disguise… and it wouldn't have to be that much. It's sort of that hiding in plain sight, ya' know?"

Clark laughed and pulled her into a big hug. "Chloe, only you…" He just shook his head. Then he sobered. "We have bigger fish to fry, unfortunately. Do you any memories that might help us figure out where the source is coming from?"

"Clark, how could I?" Chloe asked impatiently. "I was unconscious at the time!"

He shrugged. "At first, I was hoping we had a kidnapping and impersonation ring going… but that would have been too easy. I was kinda' hoping for the Stepford effect where they were either androids or had a chip implanted, but it was happening too quickly. It has to be something that hits the subconscious." He looked at her intently, confidence in her mental capability shining in his eyes. "Maybe it felt like a dream or something."

Chloe wanted to scoff at his suggestion. It was too mystical for her preference… but it did seem to be the likely problem and there was scientific evidence that hypnotism worked. But did she remember anything? She closed her eyes and tried to think back. Suddenly the images that had crossed her mind during her time at the Fortress started flashing again and she forced herself on concentrating on focusing on each image one at a time. The first one showed Clark's ship… the one she'd seen from the Kents' pictures when they'd realized she'd had the 411 on Clark and hadn't written a story about him and wasn't going to. The second one showed another ship, but larger and black. Then there was a slow motion mini-movie that showed how fast Clark could move. Then the ship… Then the image of Clark accidentally seeing through the wall to the girls' locker room. Then the ship… Then Clark pulling Chloe's coffin out of the ground in one smooth motion. Then the ship… She didn't have to have the pictures continue. "Something's coming from the ship, Clark. The one Lana saw after the meteor shower."

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_**A/N:** I'm not sure how much I like the Chloe memory flashback, but I thought a lot about what the Transmission would do to a person and thought that if you concentrated really hard, you could slow down the images._

_Markmark261: Yeah… the thing with the shirts. Well, in Chapter 8, Chloe was dressed lightly in a chemise/tank top and when Clark decided to take her to the Fortress, he had her layer on another of his flannels… So there were two shirts of Clark's at the scene… but I probably didn't make a big enough deal about why there would still be a shirt to take off._

_OK, with the big make-out scene… I don't want to get too into it because I know you haven't seen it all yet… but there's a reason why it was at least semi-plausible. :D I don't know though… It was my first real attempt at a true sexy scene and I'm not sure how great it was. I'm more a humor gal, as you well know and I just felt a little stilted, ya' know? But it worked and I'm going to go a little more into why they're so intensely drawn to each other a little later… :D_

_Thanks for the proofing. "Soul-shattering" is now hyphenated… because I couldn't think of a truly good reason why it shouldn't be… :D_

_KentCharm: You know, it's funny. While I really enjoy "Smallville" and its look into the early life of __Clark_ _Kent__, I'm not sure they're doing Superman the justice he should have. Although, they did get hunky Tom Welling to play _ _Clark__, so who am I to truly complain:D I think they need to write Lois out of the series soon. She doesn't belong in _ _Clark__'s life that early. They were supposed to first meet at the Planet! It drives me nutso that Lois is now billed in the credits before Chloe… and I can only pray that they don't intend to write Chloe out soon… 'cause you know this time it'll be permanent. But I have my prejudices…_

___Also, I believe there are quite a few more than five episodes left in the season. Typically, 20-22 episodes are done a year. They just do lots of breaks in-between… You know, it's Thanksgiving… It's Christmas… It's Groundhog's Day… Anything for a party… :D_

___Vee017: Welcome to the group! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story. I've been meaning to update this chapter for quite awhile, but I let it go on forever… :S Sometimes I'm so lazy that I could just curse! I'm also glad that you like the way I format my story. Sometimes when you do a one-shot story, it's too quick and you feel like you miss stuff._


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:** All of a sudden, I felt like I was focusing too much on the possibility of a relationship between the two friends… Oh, it'll happen because I'm a true converted Chlark-er, but this soon? Give me a little more time, people! I'm also not sure if I like how I ended the chapter… but we're getting toward the middle of another Danae epic and I can't have it stall out because they're arguing about who ruined the possibility of a relationship their freshman year._

_Ah, the mysterious ship… The ship catatonic Lionel said was meant for the mysterious "he"… (Sorry, MarkMark. You'll understand it all when you get to watch them…) But what does it all mean? And who's "he"?_

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Chapter 12

"Are you serious?" Clark exploded. "The one those two psychopaths emerged from? The one that _conveniently _disappeared before I could find it?" He ran his hand through his hair and started to pace, inadvertently dragging Chloe along because he'd forgotten to let go of her hand.

"Clark," Chloe murmured and he looked down at her. When he realized what he was doing, he blushed so adorably that Chloe's heart burst with her feelings for him again. _Get yourself under control, Chloe. People are relying on you and Clark and you guys can't go up in teenage angst flames!_ "It was the only recurring bit in between snippets of you using your powers…" She smiled, rather naughtily. "Oh, and can I just tell you how sexy it looked when you pulled my coffin out of the ground? It certainly was different from that angle."

"If you think I was sexy then…" he moved toward her, willing to lose their mission for an hour… okay, maybe two. She was in his arms and they were almost kissing before she backed away, looking as if it was one of the most painful decisions of her young life.

"Clark, we can't… Listen, maybe this is real, maybe it isn't. But it's really sudden and we have something more important to attend to." She looked up at him and decided that instead of pleading with him, she'd challenge him. "But if you can't keep you libido under control while your family, friends and entire home town is in danger…"

His arms dropped as if she'd just burned him. "You think I don't care about everyone here?"

She smiled. "Nope, but if we get lost in each other again, it may be the exact amount of time that whoever needs to make whatever it is permanent. We gotta' discuss this." She sat primly on a bench after retrieving his flannel shirt and wrapping it around her. Clark moved to sit next to her but she shook her head and pointed. "Oh no you don't, fly boy! Over there, if you will…"

Clark mockingly pouted at her for a moment before doing her bidding. "Why are you being so mean to me?"

Chloe closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to see the invitation in his eyes. "Do you think I'm any less immune to the pull between us? If you sat over here, I'd probably attack you."

Clark laughed in delight. "Chloe, have I ever told you how refreshingly honest you are? No one ever says the things you do…" He shook his head and put on his thinking face. "Okay. What do we know?"

Chloe smiled at him in encouragement. _He's such a great guy…_ she thought. Heat started to build within her and she shook her head. _Chloe, get a hold of yourself, girl. You're not a nympho… You can do this!_ "We know that it's a transmission of some kind… which usually indicates the need for power. My flashback memories seem to indicate that the second ship has something to do with it. And, besides you and me, everyone's suspect."

Clark looked at her oddly for a moment. "You mean, everyone but you, me or Jor-El, right?"

Chloe stared into his eyes, praying that he didn't get too upset with what she was going to say. She took a deep breath and just plunged in. "I don't think we can totally discount him, Clark."

"But he freed you from the transmission!" Clark looked at her in concern. "You can't honestly suspect him."

"Clark…" She held her hand out at him, but snatched it back in case he thought it was an invitation. _Not that I really need to worry,_ she thought wryly. _He's probably too mad at me to still want to jump my bones._

Clark jumped to his feet. He wanted to brush Chloe's concerns aside because of any previous prejudices she might still hold against Jor-El… but long association with the blonde bombshell of a reporter made him take her suggestions seriously. _Could Jor-El…? But why? Now that I finally understand… Maybe all those sessions had conditioned me to always feel he had the best of intentions…_ He shook his head. He wasn't going to be able to do this by himself. He looked at his best friend and sat back down. "Okay, Chloe. I know you have your reasons. Why don't you let me in on them?"

Chloe sighed in relief. She had been afraid that Clark would just dismiss her concerns out of hand. Now she got up and started to pace. "Okay, let's look at this objectively. One, the Fortress came into being around the same time the ship appeared. It's quite possible that is no coincidence. Two, he gives us just enough information that we could run around looking for the source of the transmission that he can detect, but can't pinpoint for some unknown reason. Three, while I no longer am under the transmission's influence, it could be that he's just cut me out of it to encourage your trust of him. Four…" She took another deep breath. This was going to be the kicker point and Clark was going to be upset. "Four, your attraction for me has come out of nowhere. We can't dismiss the fact that you _may_ be influenced to perpetuate your line."

"Chloe!" Clark gasped. "That's ridiculous!"

She looked at him sadly. "Clark, is it really? Look at our behavior. Suddenly neither of us can keep our hands off the other. And I'm only the most recent in a line of at least three women that have thrown themselves all over you."

Clark looked at her hard. "Chloe…" He choked to silence. He shook his head to try again. "Chloe, you can't mean that…"

Chloe shrugged sadly. "Clark, besides one blissful month our freshman year, you've never shown the slightest interest in me other than a friend. What am I supposed to think?"

Clark could only blink. It was true that his romantic life had been taken up by Alicia and Lana… _Okay, mostly Lana,_ he admitted privately to himself. "Chloe, are we going to go through this again?"

She shook her head. "I don't really want to." She smiled. "That is going to take a little while for us to get through… and _now_ is definitely not that time for that." She looked at him again, her face deadly serious. "Clark, Jor-El or someone claiming to be him tried to rule your life for at least three years and make you do his bidding. I don't know if we can totally dismiss him as a suspect."

Clark sighed. "You're right, Chloe, but where should we go from here?" He lowered his head onto his hands. "If we can't trust Jor-El, who can we trust?"

She laughed at his woebegone face. "Mr. Kent, I thought _that_ would be obvious! We can trust each other!" She was relieved when he started to laugh with her.

Suddenly, his face went deadly serious. "Chloe, I hear Lana calling my name."

Chloe grimaced. "_She_ would. Is she at least saying what she wants?"

Clark looked at her, worried. He didn't want to leave Chloe, especially since that was one of the things that had driven them apart before… but Lana's voice had that shrill urgent quality that usually indicated she was in some sort of danger. He'd heard it often enough, after all.

"Go, Clark," Chloe sighed. "She may be under the influence of the Transmission, but you shouldn't just ignore her because of that."

He looked at Chloe and noticed her resigned face. _This is going to get hairy,_ he thought wryly. How to still help the people he cared about but help Chloe realize that she was extremely important in his life and for his happiness. Suddenly, he smiled and held out his hands. "Chloe, come run with me…" Her answering smile was all the reward he needed.

Chloe was in his arms, almost before the words left his mouth. _He asked me to come! He doesn't want me to worry! He wants me with him!_ Her mind chanted it almost ecstatically. When an unwelcome thought came, she tried to squash it and enjoy the wind rushing past her, but it popped out of her mouth. "Won't bringing me along slow you down?" she muttered into the wind, confident of his ability to hear her anywhere.

"Not noticeably," he shouted. Chloe noticed that it was harder to hear him while running than when flying. "I'm not exactly sure where she is, so I wouldn't be running flat out anyway."

Chloe sighed happily, her last guilt removed. She hadn't been sure what she would do if Clark had rushed off to Lana's assistance without her. At least she would have known why this time… but she wasn't sure that would have made a huge difference. She snuggled against Clark, secure in both his grip and his affection for her.

Clark found it hard to concentrate on Lana's voice with Chloe in his arms… but he wouldn't have given it up for anything. He angled toward the bridge and his mind started to worry. He stopped at the beginning of it and lowered Chloe so they could check out the scene before they stumbled into something too dangerous for Chloe. They saw Lana in the middle of the bridge and Clark got a bad feeling about the situation.

Lana caught sight of them and a furious look crossed her face. She climbed up on the edge and held her arms out. "You think she loves you, Clark, but I love you more. I can prove it."

"How exactly do you manage to 'prove' it, Lana?" Chloe asked, her patience holding on by a thread. "By pretending to be a bird?"

Lana sneered at Chloe. "You don't belong here. This was supposed to be a special moment between me and Clark."

"Riiiight," Chloe drawled. "Like I'm really going to leave you alone with Clark in your current state. Why don't you come over here and we'll talk about the situation."

"Chloe, you're a coward and I can prove it. You'd never die for him!" With that, Lana toppled off the bridge to the accompaniment of Chloe's gasp of horror.

_**

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A/N:** Another chapter done. I can't believe it. I thought I was going to stall out for a little while because most of my attention was focused on this script idea I came up with. But it was a short script, so three days later, I'm back on the job! _

_I have one comment on the direction Smallville seems to be going… So, I was innocently watching the WB… (and I'm going to start rhyming for a minute so please forgive me…)_

_And what to my wondering eyes did appear  
But clips from the season starting next year.  
I started to clap… I started to gasp…  
New episodes were soon within my grasp.  
But then it happened and my heart nearly stopped.  
They referenced the character soon to be chopped.  
My eyes were peeled, taking in every detail  
And what I saw caused me to wail.  
Three people were shown to possibly die  
Lex, Lana and the last I denied with a cry.  
Chloe was last and my heart started to sink.  
Options discarded as I started to think.  
Would Kristen be the one to croak?  
I hear her fans and agents start to choke.  
Michael is safe for without lovely Lex  
There's no character to cause Clark to vex.  
Tears rolled down my face. I started to sob.  
It hurt me deeply. Alison Mack without this job.  
In a tizzy of research, I viewed many sites  
Looking for something to counter news that bites!  
KryptonSite's my savior. I have to rejoice  
For spoilers that calmed my fears with their voice.  
I know she's not out of danger yet,  
But I'm confident enough to place a bet.  
So WB PTB, hear my plea.  
Let Chloe live. Leave her be.  
For without her wit, her charm, and grace  
Your show will surely drop to last place!_

_KentCharm: I don't know if this will increase your anxiety or not, but the reports are that "someone" is going to die in the 100th episode. But there's no guarantee who that will be. Now, I would say that if the PTB followed cannon, Lana would be safe. After all, in the comics, she married Pete Ross. But Chloe, who is not in historical cannon, doesn't have that out. I can think of a couple of ways out of it and Chloe is mentioned on a spoiler site I frequent after the 100th episode, but they are always careful to make sure we know that just 'cause she seems to be a driving character in future episodes that there's no guarantee. We'll just have to cross our fingers and pray for the best. (And Clark owes her some considerable grieving if it is her!)_

_I would like to take this moment to thank you so much for the complement. I love writing and it's even easier when people appreciate it. Now if I can just continue to earn your praise, I'll be the happiest person on the planet… OK, maybe if I was paid to have lots of people like my writing… Yeah, that would be the best! ;D_

_QuietOne: Thank you very much for that clarification… I'm not sure if it was for me or someone else, but it is appreciated. But now my question is… Do you like my story so far? Is there something you'd do to change it? Make it better? Feedback is ALWAYS appreciated... :D_


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N:** You know, it's funny. Every time I write about Chloe's insecurity regarding a romantic relationship with Clark, I always go to the Spring Dance incident. And even when I'd mentioned it earlier, I started to do it again. Why would I do that? Is it because it hasn't been resolved within the "real" mythos? I have no idea. But I can really empathize with Chloe. At least Clark is finally learning in my mythos:D_

_Now, a **WARNING **is needed here. I don't want to give away the chapter, but if you are extremely sensitive to women being assaulted, please skip from the dash section down to the next one. I tried to make it milder than I had originally written, but I don't want to bring up any painful emotions for those that it may do that to. Thank you.

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_

**Chapter 13**

Clark was in motion before the breath had barely left Chloe's lips. He really didn't understand what was going on, but this was really too much. Suicide to prove dedication wasn't the way to gain his affection… It wasn't the way to prove anything other than stupidity. In the back of his mind, he wondered why she would even attempt this since she knew about his superspeed. Mentally, he shrugged, grabbed Lana's shirt, and tugged her back to the safety of the bridge. Faster than he would have thought she could move, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt something loosely clasped around his neck. "No!" he screamed as he could feel it coursing through his body. Then he looked down at Lana and began to ravage her willing mouth. He felt surprised that he seemed to feel nothing at all but figured he could just as easily take what was so freely proffered.

He heard a gasp coming from his right and lifted his head from Lana. He looked to the side and saw a beautiful vision before him. How had he never realized how gorgeous Chloe was? She was always throwing herself at him and he'd never had the balls to take her up on it. He rushed to her side, carelessly dropping Lana on her butt and swept Chloe up in one smooth motion. He jetted into superspeed as soon as he could.

He felt a tapping on his chest and looked down to figure out where the irritation was coming from. He chuckled as he watched Chloe pounding with all her might on his chest. "Clark! What are you thinking? You _kissed_ Lana! How could you?" He ignored her as he focused entirely on his destination. Paris was too far for what he had in mind… especially when he practically had his own "penthouse" on the farm. He slid to a halt before the couch and unceremoniously dumped her onto it and stripped off his shirt. Chloe had turned white and her eyes were round as saucers. "C-C-Clark! Wh-what are you doing?"

He smiled down at her and Chloe cringed. She wondered how the face she loved could have turned so cold and hot at the same time. She could feel his eyes raking her body and she knew without a doubt that he was using his x-ray vision on her. She wanted to cover herself somehow, but knew it wouldn't help the situation. She scrambled to her feet. He towered above her and she realized that she'd never felt quite this vulnerable and scared in his presence before. He tugged her to him and began devouring her mouth. Her hands involuntarily crept up around his neck and she felt a harsh bit of rope around his neck. "Clark, what's going on?" she pleaded when she had the strength to pull away.

He smiled wolfishly. "Claiming what's mine, of course."

------

Chloe gasped and dropped her gaze from his. For a moment, before he pushed her against the sofa again, she saw a shining red gem hanging from the rope. She knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him… even if he had been a normal human man and that thought caused tears to start rolling down her face. _This isn't happening!_ she thought over and over. _This isn't how I wanted this…_

But then Pete's voice came through the haze of shock. _"This'll do the trick," he'd said as he held up their class ring with the red meteor rock in it. "This'll remove the stick from up his butt."_

Chloe gasped again and could feel her head swimming. She didn't really remember when that had happened, but she suddenly knew that kryptonite didn't just have to be green. Scenes flashed through her mind as un-Clark-like moments had happened.A red rock always seemed to be around him… By this time, she had been stripped to her skivvies and she knew she had to focus or they would be lost. She looked at Clark and stilled his hands. "Clark, kiss me!" she said as huskily as she could manage.

------

"Finally!" he barked. "I knew you couldn't resist me for long." He pressed her against the couch and she briefly wondered if he was going to consume her. Her hands were pressed against his chest, so she reached up until she had a firm grip on the stone and ripped the rude necklace from his neck. She threw it into the corner and wondered if he would come to his senses immediately.

It wasn't long before the kiss turned gentle and Chloe knew she had her Clark back. He lifted his head for a moment and took in her bruised and nearly naked status. He looked around the room and rolled to the floor in shock. Chloe's relief was so great that huge tears started rolling down her face. She clutched her arms around her torso, trying to get warm, and Clark unconsciously draped his discarded shirt around her shoulders. Then he backed as far away from her as he could. Chloe couldn't find it in herself to break the silence right away and just continued to watch him huddle against the wall.

When he finally lifted his head, Chloe gasped in shock. His eyes had never looked so haunted… not even when Alicia had died. She had to strain to hear him. "Chloe, what have I done?" he whispered, stricken.

With a cry, she flew into his arms. His arms encircled her automatically, but loosely enough that she could have easily broken free. "Clark… Clark…" she murmured over and over, kissing him with each repeat. When she finally got herself under control, she took his hand and led him to the couch and sat close next to him. Never in all the maneuvering did she relinquish his hand. "Clark," she murmured. When he wouldn't look at her, she used her hand to make him do so. "It wasn't you. It was Lana and that weird piece of red rock."

They embraced and stayed that way for some time. Suddenly the situation seemed too far out of their control… as if they knew that their teenage assurance of their ultimate triumph over evil was foolish. While the situation had made them nervous before, now it was terrifying. Then a horrible thought came to Clark. "Chlo, how would Lana know of the effects of red kryptonite on me? How would she know that a necklace with that stone in it would make me want to fulfill all my base desires?"

Chloe looked at him and saw her fear mirrored in his eyes. "Obviously the Transmission has upped the ante, Clark." She got up and started to pace.

Clark's eyes followed her every movement… admiring the curve of her legs… and how she looked in his shirt… When he realized what he had been doing, he slammed his eyes shut. _She's never going to want to be with me again,_ he thought in agony. _Not now that I've practically raped her…_ He tried to pay attention to what she was saying.

"…powers, now it's telling them your weaknesses, because you're not cooperating. Maybe taking me to the Fortress was a huge mistake. Maybe it knew your actions and now knows you're not playing the game." She plopped down on the sofa, slumped in defeat… but with an air of activity that communicated to Clark that she hadn't given up on finding the solution yet.

Clark had to smile. He wondered quietly to himself why he'd never realized how wonderful she was before. Because she hadn't changed… only his perception of her had. He'd been blissfully satisfied with being only her friend, secure that if they didn't change their relationship, it would always be there for him. He wondered briefly when his feelings had begun to change toward her. He could list off any number of times when he'd found himself fascinated with the way she moved and the way she talked… or the way she smiled… or how her eyes always had that knowing look in them… He sighed.

Chloe patted his hand. "Don't worry, Clark. We'll figure this out."

Clark smiled, glad that she'd misinterpreted his sigh. He knew he was going to have to compartmentalize his feelings for her again and put them in a little box in his mind. "I know we will, Chlo, but where do we start?"

Chloe's lips twisted as she thought of the problem. "Well, we know Jor-El can't determine the exact location of the signal, but we know it has to be in Smallville somewhere. Why don't you go on a run and see if you can find it?" It wasn't a perfect solution but may just give them each the time they needed to work through what had just happened _and_ possibly find the location of the source.

"What? You don't think that whoever's responsible for it won't know of my weakness of being unable to see through lead?" Clark smiled. "I mean, I'd run around the world until you told me to stop, Chlo, but would that really help us?"

Chloe had to laugh. She smacked him lightly on the arm (so she didn't hurt herself) and explained. "Clark, you're forgetting about your superhearing… If you open up, you should be able to hear the Transmission and then triangulate its location."

Clark looked at her, his mouth dropped open. Chloe smiled and gently pushed his mouth shut. He jumped up in excitement when the shock wore off. "Chloe, you're brilliant! Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Because you didn't know that it was a transmission." She grimaced. "Besides, we don't know if you'll even be able to hear it…"

"But it has to be worth the try, right?" Clark got up, ready for some action to put his guilt behind him. "I mean, where else could we go with this?"

Chloe shrugged. "It's a good question, Clark. We could search for the ship… We could search all the big buildings in town, but it's probably too well hidden." She got up and gave him a huge hug. Clark stiffened in surprise, but quickly relaxed enough to hold her in his embrace. "Clark, I don't know what else will get a result fast enough. They're getting fed your weaknesses now and it's only a matter of time before they totally freak out and try to kill you 'cause they can't have you." She lifted her head and looked him squarely in the eye. "We can't risk you, Clark. When all's said and done, you're the one that's needed most."

He felt suddenly as if he was choking. He still had nightmares about Cassandra's visions from his freshman year and he couldn't bear to lose even one more person… especially if Chloe was talking about sacrificing herself for the good of all. It just wasn't acceptable.

Chloe had been watching his face closely and watched him pale. She sighed and smacked his arm. "Clark, I'm not talking about killing myself or putting myself in harm's way… well, in any new sense… I'm saying that you're the man for the job and that you need to find the Transmission site before our friends and family are fed any more information about your weaknesses. Sheesh!"

Clark swallowed and smiled sheepishly. Not that Chloe was selfish, she just definitely didn't have a death wish. He laughed lightly at himself and slowly let Chloe go. "Crap, I can be such a moron! I'm sorry, Chloe. I think the stress of the situation is getting to me at last. I mean, it doesn't help that I att…" He stopped suddenly and shuddered. "I should probably get going. I'll check in with you soon." He was off in a shot before he could say anything else stupid.

Chloe shook her head sadly. "That boy takes on the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes…" she muttered, turning back to the sofa to see if she could salvage some semblance of an outfit.

"You aren't just whistlin' Dixie," someone said behind her… just before she was knocked out cold. Her last conscious thought was how she hadn't told Clark that she didn't blame him for red Kal-El's behavior…

_**

* * *

A/N:** I mean, let's be honest. Chloe had to have something besides falling under the Transmission's spell happening to her. I hope that it wasn't too bad for anyone. _

On a personal note, I'm sorry if this slows down in the posting rate for ya'll. I've been ill and haven't been able to totally kick it yet. Add that to the holidays and life has been totally crazy. Plus, I've been having problems with my website software which is totally driving me insane… but really, that's a long walk on a short pier…

iluvsmallville1: You're so enthusiastic! I LOVE IT! I had meant to be reviewing your stories, but I have apparently just forgotten to make you a favorite author so I get notices whenever you write… Whoops! ;D I'll get that fixed up…

markmark261: Yeah, I thought it was starting to take over too much. Of course, I did a bit more… but there was a reason... Are you satisfied with my resolution of the cliffhanger? (P.S. Thanks ever so for the proofing stuff. I really do appreciate it! As an FYI, I know "Transmission" doesn't need to be capitalized, but I thought I would to give it its own evil entity… Muwhahahaha! ;D)

KentCharm: It's only Pete & Lana in the comics, I believe. I don't think it'll happen in the Smallville world. Personally, I would like it if Lois & Clark never get together in the Smallville incarnation. (Can you tell with the way I write?) With the crying...you're in good company. I've been feeling rather emotional myself. And I'm so glad you liked my poem. All of a sudden, while typing, I was rhyming, so I decided I really should just make a full blown poem…

Chloe'll have tons of opportunity to prove she's not a coward. And I can't seem to stop writing, short of being on my sickbed, so no worries! ;D

Vee017: I'm glad you liked it. I was all set to go all for it, but then it just seemed wrong somehow…

_Clark__'s slowly coming out of his adolescent fog. I've never understood why he still thinks he's "in love" with Lana in the show. His physical reaction to her at the beginning was all due to that necklace. And then it just seemed to be because she's so "pretty". _

_I'm glad my poem is such a hit. I can only pray that they don't do the unthinkable. I would prefer that they kill Lois and then Chloe uses her name while writing to pay homage to her cousin. They're not going to do it, but I wish they would… _

_And they do make a good couple. It's something about those matching smiles…_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N:** I'm almost afraid to continue watching Smallville. I intellectually know that no one is exempt from death… but I'm paranoid about who'll be cut next. I've been TiVo-ing it, but have yet to watch Splinter. I should probably just grab a backbone, shouldn't I? I've also heard that they may start doing Clark & Lois romancing things this season. I could just vomit! Please, PTB, please! Don't kill me with your rewriting of the Superman universe!_

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Chapter 14

Clark allowed his conscience to ease as he sped around the surrounding area. He figured that since the Transmission had initially only affected the townspeople of Smallville that it had to be in the immediatearea. He was frustrated that he couldn't take up Chloe's suggestion of triangulating the location of the Transmission, but figured they should have known that… if Jor-El couldn't, why would he be able to? Surprisingly, what he started noticing more and more was the fact that there were a number of locations that were shielded from his x-ray vision. Considering that lead lining a room was very expensive, it was suspicious enough to start him worrying. He took careful note of each location and then hurried back to the barn to discuss it with Chloe.

He almost stumbled to a stop at the thought of Chloe. _Even under red kryptonite, I should have never tried to force her…_ He struggled with the complete thought. He just couldn't believe how he'd acted… and yet she'd still allowed him to hug her. He shook his head and took a couple more loops around the town. He didn't understand her at all. When she'd discovered his secret, she'd kept it close to her heart and hidden her knowledge even from him… and when she finally understood the entire story, she totally forgave him his every sin. And here he'd practically committed a crime and she still believed that it wasn't really him and that he was somehow beyond the foibles of your normal man. He felt supremely humbled and unworthy of her high opinion of him.

He sighed. "I'm just going to have to talk to her about it," he shrugged, pouring on more speed. As he entered the barn, he looked around. It was strangely quiet. He rushed up the stairs, expecting Chloe asleep or something on the sofa. What he saw was rather disquieting. The loft was absolutely empty, but strangely so. He looked around, scanning for a sign of disturbance or something. His heart plummeted as he started thinking that she'd sent him off so she could run from him… but then he saw the three drops of blood on the floor and his brain burst into flames.

"Who would want to hurt Chloe?" he demanded to the empty space. But the violence obviously done to Chloe made his brain shut down and he practically ripped apart the barn looking for her before his rational mind could catch up again. He stopped himself right in the middle of tearing a bale of hay to shreds and had to chuckle ruefully. "Clark," he said slowly and aloud… to make sure that he heard sense… "She isn't likely to be compressed in the hay… nor is she likely to still be here. You gotta' be smart about this, man!" He blinked twice… realizing that he was acting like a fool… and realizing that he'd practically mimicked Pete to get his self-advice.

He sat down slowly at his desk and got out a pad of paper. He had nearly an eidetic memory, but there was something soothing about writing down what he knew and trying to logic out the answer. As he continued to doodle on his paper, his subconscious noticed something odd and kept trying to get his attention. Finally, he allowed his mind to relax enough that it came to him… "Mom? Dad?" He hopped to his feet and could only pray that he was wrong. He rushed to the house, but the house was deathly silent. He quickly covered the family property, but there was absolutely no sign of them.

Now he had an almost harder question to answer… Had his parents been taken by whomever had taken Chloe? Why would that happen when they're under the influence of the Transmission? He groaned and sank to the ground in abject misery. There had only been a few times in his life where he couldn't absolutely rely on his parents… and he couldn't bear to start distrusting them now. It was all the Transmission's fault, he knew deep inside, but he didn't feel any closer in finding it… especially since Chloe was gone. But he knew he couldn't give up entirely… If Chloe or the world were to have any chance, he had to pull himself together.

He quickly gathered items he thought he might need and stuffed them in a backpack along with his notes. He kept in mind that the population at large now knew his strengths as well as some of his weaknesses, so tried to prepare himself for those challenges. When he found himself covering the same ideas a second time, he forced himself to stop and walk away. He wondered if he should double-check his preparations with Jor-El, but Chloe's warning about his possible non-pure motives held him back. He hadn't relied on his birth father's advice before the Fortress… and he didn't want to start using him as a crutch now.

He decided that superspeeding around would just make him more noticeable. He didn't think he could totally pull off anonymity, but as he _was_ the only one with super human powers, he needed to try and remain under the radar. He grimaced at his mental choice of words. He started toward the family's truck, but realized that would be nearly as conspicuous. He sighed. Thankfully, he'd never had any problems with physical activity so he started out on his trek, choosing for his first investigatory site KROW, the local radio station. He couldn't understand why they would have a lead vault on the property and now seemed to be the time to find out.

------

Chloe groaned as the world started to force itself upon her again. She longed briefly for the sweet release of unconsciousness, but chided herself for her lack of courage. She cracked her eyes open and swallowed back hard on the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes and prayed that the world would stop whirling so dramatically. When she dared experiment again, all seemed more normal. She remained lying down to help her equilibrium and took in what she could of the room. It seemed very grey and dim, but there had to be windows or something in it because light was pouring in and there wasn't a light fixture on the ceiling. She took a deep breath and levered herself to a sitting position, inadvertently groaning as the nausea hit her again.

"Do not worry, Miss Sullivan," a cold, disembodied voice sounded. "You have a minor concussion and your symptoms should resolve themselves in short order."

Chloe wondered at the voice even as it sent shivers down her spine. It seemed to be trying to offer her some sort of reassurance, but that was no comfort. She decided to play the blonde card. It really didn't help that the voice was totally unemotional."Oh, am I in some sort of hospital? I'm so relieved!"

The voice didn't change in tone, but Chloe imagined that it got colder in the room. "Do not attempt to play the fool, Miss Sullivan. You know very well that you are my captive and I do not take that role lightly."

Chloe's temper, ever uncertain, rose like a shot. "What do you want with me? What could you possibly hope to accomplish by holding me captive?"

The answer, if anything, threatened to make Chloe pass out in panic by its absolute unemotional and totally implacablequality. "To bring Kal-El to heel, of course, and steer your pitiful planet into the greatness that was denied Krypton."

_**

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A/N: I'm falling behind! I usually give myself a little bit of a buffer, but I only have one chapter ready between this one and the one I'm currently writing! This is bad… Bad… The pressure is… too… much…! OK, I'm good. ;D **_

_Vee017: See, that's what I thought. Considering their changed relationship within the story, I thought it was most appropriate._

_I thought that with the red kryptonite issue, Chloe could have a fuzzy flashback to when she and Pete were taken over by the parasites, but then lost their memory. Plus, there are a finite number of instances where Clark's acted entirely out of character and a red rock has been on his person each time. Since Chloe already knew of his abilities at the beginning of the story, I thought it was appropriate for her to finally put two and four together to realize that maybe other meteor rocks affected him differently._

_My dream is that Lois will be killed off and then Chloe will disappear to wallow in her grief for awhile and come back to decide to change her name to Lois to honor her cousin. Maybe they could kill Lois off by her saving Chloe's life somehow._

_MarkMark261: Buenos dias, my friend! Chloe did seem to get over the assault pretty quickly, but she realized that Clark was under the influence of red K and wasn't himself. I guess that's how I justified it. Also, I didn't want it to drag on with the angst too long. I figure Clark will do enough of that with the guilt bit, after all._

_I figured that due to their changed relationship, Clark would go after Chloe. After all, he and Lana had broken up and we haven't seen him pining for her at all. In fact, he's been a bit snippy to her._

_I understand about the preferences. For a while I was a Chlexer, but then I got into some Chlark and have been hooked ever since. I doubt that anything like that will happen on the show, but I can always dream, right?_

_Maybe I'll put the Pete flashback entirely in italics, since that's how I usually indicate thoughts. Thanks again for the proofing!_

_KentCharm: Chloe is a strong chick. She can totally take care of herself. And considering how often the members of Smallville community are hit over the head, I think they must all have heads of steel._

_And I'm not going to tell you who did it. That would be too much information…_

_ilovesmallville1: You're so kind. I'm so glad you enjoy my work. It encourages me to write more. Have you read any of my past stuff? (hint, hint)_


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N:** I find myself writing ahead… mostly so that, if I get enough reviews, I can post a new chapter nearly immediately. (Yeah, like that happens as often as I want… not the reviews although, more is always good but more that I don't follow-up as often as I should…) But Christmas is kicking my butt! (And if this is posted some time late January, you can tell that I wrote it ahead of time… :D) Anyways, sometimes that's why my Author's Notes seem a little behind the times…_

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Chapter 15

When the voice broke off, Chloe looked about her frantically for any sign of her location. The room definitely didn't feel otherworldly, but it wasn't a place she felt familiar with. The unrelieved gray of the walls was rather depressing and only emphasized her imprisonment. She took a deep breath. "Get a hold of yourself, Chloe girl. You've been in worse spots."

She looked at the door and realized that if she had a key, she could have opened it from her side of the door. It seemed bizarre to her that a key would be needed on the inside of a room, but shrugged it off. If this had been going on for as long as Clark thought, this could have been prepared in advance for anyone not susceptible to the Transmission. The room had a toilet in it, but if the room was eight foot by six, she would have been surprised.

She looked at the window where the light feebly shone in. The ceilings were surprisingly tall and she didn't think she could just reach it. She cursed her slight stature and wished briefly that she was at least six inches taller. Then she might have reached it by jumping… or maybe doing the walking up the wall, propping her feet between the two walls. She was just thankful that there was a toilet in the corner. _Obviously, this has been used as some sort of prison before_, she thought morosely. When she heard the door scraping open, she jumped and twirled around quickly.

------

Clark had to swallow hard to bury the fierce disappointment that the radio station had revealed no nefarious activities. It had just been a lead vault to house archives of various shows and their records. Considering the frequency of disasters that happened in the area, it wasn't a bad idea. But now he had to trek at normal speed to another location. He paused for a moment and wondered if anyone would _really_ notice him superspeeding anywhere. But in the back of his mind, a wiser voice than he was used to asked if he was really willing to risk Chloe by taking that chance. He shook his head. He was going to have to slog through the day like everyone else. His mouth twisted into a grimace. While he still frequently wished he was "normal", right now he just wanted everything to be the way it was. He hefted his backpack more securely on his shoulder and kept moving. At least he had put the search in a logical order in his mind.

Progress felt slow to him as he moved toward the LuthorCorp Shipping Center. With Lex being affected, it seemed like it would be a good bet for Chloe to be stashed in such a heavily guarded building. He smirked slightly. He found it odd in the extreme that Chloe and he had been able to break into and out of LuthorCorp facilities almost without any trouble for the last five years. He would have expected more from Lex.

------

"Lois! Lana! You've got to get me out of here! Clark's in trouble!" Chloe prayed to herself that an imagined threat to their desired leader would be enough for them to get her out of there. Their faces didn't even change expression and Chloe looked at them more closely. Lana's hands held a tray of food and Lois carried the water. "Shit," she muttered.

"We are to bring you sustenance, Chloe Sullivan," Lana said and Chloe shuddered that all emotion had been leached out of her voice.

"Lana…" she started, but she was totally ignored as Lana placed the tray carefully within the room. She turned to her cousin… the one that she thought could withstand anything. "Lois, what's going on? Why am I in here? Why won't you help me?"

There was absolutely no reaction from Lois Lane. Dead eyes bore into Chloe's and she wondered if she'd ever get her friends and cousin back. "You will slide the tray under the door when you have finished," Lois murmured in monotone. She poured water into a plastic cup, which she set beside the tray. "Someone will return in the morning."

As the girls turned to leave, Chloe saw her first chance of escape disappearing before her eyes. Sure, they _said_ someone would be by in the morning, but there was no guarantee of that. Silently begging their forgiveness, Chloe swept Lana's feet out from under her and tackled Lois to the wall. "Please don't make me hurt you," Chloe begged as Lois continued to struggle.

With no response given, she pulled her hand back to punch out her much beloved cousin. But before she could land a blow, her hand was twisted behind her and she was actually flipped to the floor. Lana stood above her, no sign of the exertion she had just made showing at all. "You will be attended to in the morning," Lana stated as the girls moved quickly out of the room. Chloe was too winded to try and stop them. She wished briefly that her captors had installed carpeting in her cell.

------

Clark left the shipping center cursing fluently under his breath. If his parents had heard him, he would have been grounded for a week… even though he was a college man. He had been so sure Lex would hold Chloe in his facility. He sighed heavily. _There are two other places Lex could have stashed her, I suppose_, he thought morosely. He was tempted to go straight to the main LuthorCorp factory… especially considering everything that had occurred there. He opened his backpack and munched on an apple as he considered. He turned to head in that direction until he thought of Chloe.

"You gotta' follow your journalistic instincts, Clark," she'd mentioned during one of their various stake-outs forTorch assignments. "Rushing in all directions at once does absolutely nothing for an investigation." He'd wondered if he even possessed those instincts and had said so. She'd just smiled and patted his hand. She hadn't said anything further, but she'd always shown such faith in him… and she'd set him a great example. While those that didn't know her would think that she just jumped without looking, he knew from experience that she researched the possibilities and then went on her field trips.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Mentally, he called up his list of suspect sites again and started toward the Manor.

------

Chloe stood on the toilet and reached toward the window. She could have sworn that she could just have reached it. As her fingers clutched hopelessly on thin air, she blistered the air with curses. Finally, she jumped with the hopes that she could latch onto the ledge and pull herself up. Unfortunately, she slightly miscalculated the distance and slammed into the wall. Luckily, her fingers did latch onto the sill, but she hung there, gasping to regain her breath. But as time slowly passed, she could feel her fingers burning from the strain of even hanging there. She couldn't even find the strength to pull herself up to the ledge, but she wouldn't allow herself to give up so easily. Tears streamed down her face and her arms started shaking as she fought to raise herself up. Finally she met with success as her eyes passed the window sill. What she saw made her say a number of words that would have made Clark blanche. She dropped to the ground in defeat, slightly twisting her ankle for all of her troubles.

"How could there possibly not be a latch on that window?" she asked to the empty air of her cell.

"Did you really expect me to allow that to happen?" The cold voice seemed to emanate from every point in the room.

In her inspection, she hadn't noticed any cameras or speaker systems, so she wondered how it was possible. _Don't let him shake you, Chloe,_ she thought fiercely. The last thing she wanted in the world was to appear weak to this person and allow herself to be used as bait in a Clark-trap. She tilted her chin up unconsciously, ready to do battle… if not for herself then for Clark. "Well, I haven't been that impressed with your tactics so far," she sneered, "so why wouldn't you leave a window open?"

"If you are trying to antagonize me, Ms. Sullivan, you will find that an impossible task." The voice, if anything, had gotten slightly chillier and Chloe had to swallow a smirk.

"Of course it's impossible." She started pacing. To sit still while being interrogated in this bizarre manner was anathema to her. "You're a computer, after all. Emotion is not something you are capable of."

A tinny laugh sounded which chilled Chloe to the bones. "And what theoretical jump did you need to make to come to that conclusion?"

Chloe continued pacing, thinking furiously. She knew that the entity or person knew that she'd been to see Jor-El which is what had made her invulnerable to the Transmission. But did she really want to reveal that Jor-El had said he couldn't pinpoint the source of it? If she said anything further, would it give her kidnappers more leverage against Clark? She vowed silently that she wasn't going to reveal anything. She pressed her lips together fiercely and sat in the corner.

The tinny laugh came again. Chloe wondered if it was her imagination or if it really was a simulacrum of a true laugh. "Very good, Ms. Sullivan. But we have plenty of time to get acquainted. Please make yourself comfortable for the night. Someone will be by with your meal in the morning."

Chloe shivered in reaction. She had a feeling that the ultimate solution to this problem wasn't going to be as easy as they'd originally thought. She wondered if there was any way for her to get a signal to Clark or something, but she hesitated to bring him to this place. If the zombies knew about red kryptonite, then they would definitely know about the green stuff. She straightened her spine as she lay down to get some sleep. If she was going to keep Clark safe, she was just going to have to escape on her own.

_**

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A/N: Oh my gosh! So do I have news! I have currently been offered the position of News Editor for Can you believe it! I think it was my poem that did it. We'll see how I do. It's not so much that I'm nervous as that I'm worried how much time it'll take and if I'll be able to garner any sort of news about my dear Chloe. Although finding information about the rest of the show and actors was a snap! Except for who died on January 26:( **_

_MarkMark261: Thank you for catching that error in grammar. I think I put singular because, before the preposition, I put "a"… which made me think singular. Whoops! ;D_

_Yeah, I know that the villain has been totally playing least in sight. I think it's mostly because I was feeling ambivalent about the identity of said villain. I know I gave an identity previously, but I started rethinking that. We'll see how the story lets me determine who it ultimately is. (Doesn't it seem odd that I don't know the identity of my own villain?)_

_I'm not going to let Clark off that easily. He and Chloe will need to have a long talk. Whether I'll have that in the context of the story or not remains to be seen._

_KentCharm: The Clark proposing to Lana thing isn't giving me too much heartburn. I know how that'll end up, so I'm not worried. In fact, I'm starting to be less worried about the Death as more trailers come out. But ultimately, we had to wait until January 26th. And thanks for being patient! We'll see how it goes. My personal life is starting to heat up, so we'll see how much attention I'll be allowed to give to the story…_

_Johnny Superfecta: A new fan! Welcome! I'm so excited when new people read my work… and especially when they bother to give feedback. It makes me happy. The "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibe did get a little sidetracked, but it's coming back… with a vengeance. ;D And I'm glad you liked my Krypton synopsis. I just see so many versions that I wanted to put down the historical stuff I remember and grew up with. For it to be any other way seems slightly wrong to my delicate sensibilities… ;D_

_Oh, don't worry. Transmission Lex is definitely going to be around a bit more. To leave him out would be a travesty! ;D_

_Regarding the Red K, that's totally true. I guess I was going for how they couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other and then suddenly all his restraints are taken off and he does exactly what he wants. What's funny to me is that scene came out of me totally by surprise. I definitely wasn't intending that scene when I started out…_


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N:** I feel like I'm falling behind. Writing ahead is great because then when I get the reviews I want, or just the inclination to post an update, I can and it's not such a big deal. But while writing this chapter, I no buffers left! That's just not cool. Seriously!_

_Also, I have taken on another project, as some of you may know. It's totally fun, but I'm going to have to split my attention between the two. Add that personal life and other projects and life has just gotten more complicated. I'm not really complaining… just letting you know that there's a reason if I'm not as fast as I used to be… ;D_**

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**Chapter 16**

As daylight slowly filtered into her cell, Chloe moaned in utter rebellion. She was sore all over… not only from sleeping on a concrete floor, but also from the minor beating she'd gotten from the two Ls the previous day. _Not to mention that I don't even have the comfort of decaffeinated coffee this morning!_ she thought sadly. That had always been her favorite part of the day while growing up. She could picture herself sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of java with her dad.

Briefly, she considered curling into the fetal position and crying at the injustice of it all. That moment continued until she forced herself up into a sitting position. There was absolutely no way she was giving that entity the satisfaction of breaking her. After all, she still had work to do. Any moment now, the person with her breakfast should be here and she needed to find some sort of weapon. The only piece of "furniture" was the toilet, but absolutely nothing was loose enough for her to loosen with her bare hands.

She stopped fiddling with the toilet and looked around. The voice wanted her to believe it was all-powerful/knowing/seeing… but she didn't see how that could be possible. Without a doubt, there were cameras and some sort of sound system in the room that she couldn't see. Even if it was some sort of an alien power, it would need those sorts of connection because this room had been there for years. And monitoring her actions 24/7 would be silly, especially considering that it was trying to extend its power to other regions… and maintain those it had already subverted.

Chloe smiled wickedly. She could only hope that they were harder to control than it had initially thought. Maybe if it spread itself too thin, someone could break free of its influence, if for just a little bit. She thought about her strong-willed cousin who would normally have died rather than thrown herself at Clark. And Lex… She grimaced. She couldn't decide if he was playing along but really in more control of himself. His behavior to Clark didn't seem to bear that theory out, but he'd played them for fools before.

She started to pace about the room. _There has to be some way to get out of here_, she thought. Her first impulse was to wallow in despair and pray that Clark would find her soon. As soon as that crossed her mind, she nearly shouted in rebellion. _Who am I? Lana?_ she ranted as her pacing took on a more determined energy. _I like having a superhero that I can rely on to save me, but even when that cop kidnapped me_, she shuddered at the thought but forced herself to go on. _Even then, I escaped briefly and never stopped struggling while I was conscious! I refuse to let anything get the better of me!_

She breathed deeply and felt herself calm down but the determined attitude remained the same. It was a relief to be back to her normal self. Something felt like it was nagging at the back of her mind and she sat back on the ground to consider it for awhile. She didn't hear the footsteps nearing her cell until the lock was turned and the door was opening. In a shot, she was on her feet and in the furthest corner from the door. She was nearly afraid that, since her behavior with Lana and Lois the night before, they were considering drugging her or chaining her.

It came as a total surprise to have Lex enter the room with a tray of breakfast. "Oh, no need to worry, Chloe. It's just me." He smiled reassuringly and gracefully placed the tray on the floor.

"I've always had to be worried about you, Lex," she snarked, but sat back down.

He looked at her in shock. "I would never hurt Clark's chosen mate, Chloe," he gasped, a hand to his chest to protest his innocence.

Chloe's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she considered him while her mind was racing furiously. Normally, she would suspect it was all an act, but the nagging in her mind was becoming more insistent. She wondered what the problem was. He was perfectly polite to her, so why was she worried. Memories of the night before flashed before her eyes. She saw Lois and Lana in their wooden and extremely unemotional states. She could very nearly feel the blows she had received from them. Then it all clicked.

Lex wasn't acting the same way as the girls and there had to be a reason. Why wouldn't Lex be acting the same way? After all, she'd known him for four years. She'd only been introduced to Lana a year earlier. Of course, ever since she'd known Clark's secret, she'd realized that her journalistic sense since first meeting Lex had always warned her away from trusting him too completely because he would always turn it to his best advantage. And then Lex's true colors had been revealed and she'd gotten even more antagonistic.

The light of revelation nearly blinded her mentally. _That's it!_ she crowed internally. _It doesn't feel like it has to control Lex so closely because we're not friends and have actively disliked each other since shortly after Clark and Lois had rescued me from his father's hitman._ She took a deep breath. _It had to have a firm grip on Lois and Lana because they're my cousin and nearly best friend. That's why they weren't even allowed to have the "freedom" they'd had previously when she was with Clark._ In shock, she turned her eyes to Lex.

Lex had been watching her sadly. Her thoughts hadn't taken that long to sort themselves out, but it had been enough to give him the impression that she was refusing to talk to him. She watched him turn to the door and she gasped in dismay. If she was going to try and get anything from anyone in this insane asylum, she had to do it with Lex. "Lex, wait!" she said too loudly. He jumped and turned to her, his eyes shining with a bit of suspicion. She scolded herself for not modulating her tone. She sat down on the floor near the tray. "I'm sorry," she said and tried to look suitably meek. "It's just that I don't like eating alone. Would you mind staying and talking with me while I eat?"

Lex smiled in relief, or so Chloe thought. To shock her even further, he slid down the opposite wall until he was also sitting on the floor. "I'm sure it must be hard being in this room, but I'm sure it's all for the best." He looked puzzled. "I don't know why Clark is causing such a ruckus. He doesn't have to lie anymore and people want him to put the wrongs right in this world. Is that such a bad thing?"

Chloe took a deep breath. She wondered if she could provoke Lex enough to lift the fog a bit so he would help her. To buy herself some time, she took a mouthful of the food. _What would be the best way to get Lex angry… at least the original Lex?_ Different plans flitted about her head until she reached one that she thought would be the best try.

"I don't know, Lex." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Clark's never had the ambition that you do."

"Did, Chloe." He frowned. "I mean, I always thought I would become president one day, but Clark's so much more suitable…"

Chloe had to bite back a laugh. "Suitable? Clark? Lex, you know that even Lana would be a better politician than he would!" Lex looked shocked, but Chloe wondered if she saw some of the Lex humor starting to show in his eyes. _It could just be wishful thinking_, she thought, but since this had been the best reaction so far, she knew she had to continue.

"Chloe, you don't mean that?"

"Why not, Lex? You're the man with all the connections. You have the political savvy to get done what needs to be done. Clark would be totally overwhelmed." Chloe wondered if she should try and point out Clark's political failings rather than Lex's ambitions.

"I would be there all the way to help him," Lex said softly, but Chloe could totally see the rebellion in his eyes.

Chloe almost crowed in delight. _It's working!_ "In the background? Lex, you would never be happy there."

"But Clark…" he trailed off, as if his programming hadn't addressed those points yet.

"Clark is the background guy, Lex. You've always thrived in the limelight and he hasn't. I can't imagine why you would want to put him there. The public would never respect him as they do you." Chloe had to swallow a bit on that one. She was sure that once Clark grew up a little bit that he would be even more respected and revered than what the Transmission was currently forcing on people.

"They… They…" Lex looked at her and Chloe saw the ambition take over. "You're totally right, Chloe. I don't know why…" He looked around him and picked himself off the floor. "Why are you in here, Chloe? What were we talking about?"

Chloe knew she only had moments. The Transmission had known that she'd been removed from its influence. It would have to do something about Lex. She shoved the tray back in Lex's hands. "Lex, something weird is going on. Clark and I are trying to figure it out, but I've been trapped in here. Is there any way you can help me?"

Lex's face was turning white and Chloe wondered if it was too late. "I… I… I can't give you the keys," he stuttered to her relief. "They would know."

Chloe grasped his arms and made him look at her. "Something, anything… a weapon… something to pick the locks…"

Lex's internal struggle was increasing and Chloe wondered if they had enough time. Keeping the tray in one hand, he reached into his pocket. He handed her a titanium Swiss knife tool and the fork. "This is all…"

Chloe smiled in relief. She slid the tools up her sleeve and patted his arm reassuringly. _Thank goodness I'm still wearing Clark's shirt,_ she thought wryly. "It'll be fine, Lex," she whispered, just as all emotion drained off his face.

"Someone will be by with your dinner. Please do not interfere with my duties." He said it so woodenly that Chloe was nearly afraid for him.

She moved away from him obediently and he exited out of the room. Chloe was actually relieved that he hadn't tried to take back what he had given her. _Perhaps all memories are repressed when he takes a person over entirely_, she thought.

------

Clark was exhausted. He'd spent the entire evening covering the entire Manor and the surrounding property. He'd known it was extensive, but even when he'd used his superspeed after everyone else had finally gone to bed, it had taken all night. He sped through the trees, determined to speed up the journey. He just knew that his time was running out when it came to Chloe and the others. Internally, he admitted to himself that Chloe was probably the bait to a trap, but he couldn't turn his back on her. He slid to a halt 3 yards before the trees ended for the road. He knew that he was going to have to walk the rest of the way to the Retirement Center, but at least he'd covered a little bit of distance nearly instantaneously. He had been grateful for the trees, but it had seemed odd to have so many around the Manor. After all, they _were_ in Kansas. He sighed at the extra time he now had to take, but knew it would be better to use it than attract attention.

When he arrived, he was thankful that it was still rather early in the morning. The night shift workers were still huddled around their workstations and the tenants were still sleeping. He knew that he couldn't just rush past the nurses and aides, but he had to get to the basement. With some judicious use of his x-ray vision, he found a single employee sleeping at his desk. He went in through that door and headed directly for the basement. What he saw was enough to have his blood run cold. Instead of a shelter in case of tornados or storage rooms, he found many lab rooms. Were they doing illegal experiments on the residents?

His blood began to boil. _How dare they do this to them?_ He thought briefly of Cassandra. He wondered if he had the time to do something about this, but an image of Chloe kept him from doing anything foolish. Then he smiled. _Once I tell her about this, Chloe'll write an expose and it'll be stopped immediately._ Then the smile disappeared and determination filled him. He had to have her back. She was his anchor in this world. His super hearing picked up vehicles heading for the home and knew he had only a few minutes left. He checked on his sleeping and unwitting accomplice before he snuck out the same door he had entered with. He checked the Center off his mental list, but circled it so he'd remember to talk to Chloe. Resolutely, he headed for the school.

------

Chloe had been fairly certain that, immediately after her attempts to "subvert" (_Actually, return to "normal"_, she thought wryly.) Lex, she was under surveillance. But she knew it couldn't last forever. After all, the Transmission had already taken over at least two towns. It couldn't afford to observe a captive solely for too long. Especially when it thought there was no chance for her escape.It helped that she felt the subconscious prickling that indicated someone was watching her… an essential skill needed by any journalist that spent a lot of time sneaking around. So she just meditated until the feeling disappeared. She smiled. _I knew doing nothing would bore him… her… it…_ She shrugged. She felt some elation in her situation now that she knew she had a way to escape. But she also knew that she was going to have to act with caution. There was no telling when she'd be watched… and she wouldn't have time to hide everything.

Before she could pull out Lex's gift and the fork which was uncomfortably jabbing into her arm, she heard a "_psssst_". She looked around. She was perfectly alone in the room and she didn't think her captor would bother trying to get her attention. But she knew she had to try. Any assistance she could garner would be a relief. "Yes?" she hissed under her breath. She was afraid that any strange noise would cause the monitoring to return in full force.

"_Miss Sullivan!_" Jor-El's voice came through loud and clear. Chloe was surprised to hear some relief in the construct's voice.

"Be quiet!" she hissed, angry at this apparent disregard for secrecy.

When the voice returned, Chloe would have sworn that he was laughing at her. If the man had been alive, she certainly would have throttled him, whether or not he was Clark's biological father. "_Miss Sullivan,_" he stated after he was able to regain control of himself, "_I am speaking in your mind. You do not have to worry about being overheard by your captors._"

"_How is that even possible? I didn't realize Kryptonians had E.S.P._" A thought came to her so horrible that she couldn't bite back her next thought. "_Has Clark been snooping through my thoughts all these years?_" She could feel a blush rushing from her head to her toes, so great was the mortification she experienced. Clark knowing all the practically pornographic thoughts she'd had about him was not a good thing.

When Jor-El returned, Chloe knew he was laughing… or at least as much as a Kryptonian construct could laugh. "_Miss Sullivan, Kryptonians were not blessed or cursed with that ability, nor would Clark ever stoop to eavesdropping like that._" Chloe's relief at the first turned to shame that she would ever assume Clark would do any such thing like that. She realized with a grimace that she wouldn't have that problem. "_The reason we are able to converse at all is due to the inhibiting patch that Clark placed on your temple._"

Chloe wanted to scream in frustration. If he could read her thoughts because of the patch, he knew all about… "_So, you've been eavesdropping this entire time…_" She managed to bite out her thoughts so vehemently that she was sure Jor-El was slightly aghast.

"_In fact, that is not correct either._" Jor-El's voice was taking on his professor voice and Chloe was suddenly sorry she'd even asked. "_The patch has to be consciously activated for both parties to hear the other. Had you not been willing to make contact with someone, I would not be able to hear you. I had not thought to make use of this aspect of the technology, but because I had not heard from you or Clark in too long of a time period, I needed to do something. You were the only one fitted with the device, so I had to make contact through you._"

Chloe's mind goggled. This type of technology would be the envy of all the governments of the world. "_So we don't have to worry about being overheard at all?_"

The pause before the answer brought her anxieties to the forefront again. "_By your Earth technology?_" Jor-El asked scornfully. Chloe just knew he'd be sneering at her if he would have actually been alive. "_Do not you think that you are giving your Earth scientists too much credit? I will have you know that Krypton was very advanced scientifically… light years beyond Earth's most advanced technology._"

Chloe fumed. As much as Clark had warmed to the personality of his birth father, his superiority complex was very much intact. She would have ripped him a new one if what he'd just said hadn't started an alarm off in her head. _What is it?_ She thought desperately to herself, knowing it was very important and something that Jor-El wouldn't even consider. When it finally dawned on her, she almost vomited with worry. "_Earth technology… whatever. We can discuss your personal prejudices later. What about Kryptonian technology?_"

The answer came slowly. "_I suppose it is possible, although this was a design I had created shortly before the destruction of Krypton and no one was aware of it. It is possible that…_"

That was all Chloe needed to hear. If their communication was detected, she knew she'd be searched thoroughly. She knew she absolutely had to hide her contraband. She looked about the room and her possibilities were extremely narrow. She contemplated throwing them up to where they could rest on the window sill. But there were a couple of drawbacks… How would she get them back down? And could someone see them through the window?

That only left one alternative… the toilet. Throwing it in the toilet bowl was out because they could easily be seen and she'd need to be able to get it out fairly easily. She had nothing to tape it under the water tank with… The light bulb lit and she flashed into action. She whipped off the lid, dumped the tools inside, and replaced the lidas fast as she possibly could… which felt faster than normal, but she wrote that off as adrenaline. She heard a loud commotion coming down the hall and knew by the prickling sensation on her neck that she was just in time.

Before she could relax, she had to know. "_Jor-El, will they find the blocking patch? Will I be put under the spell of the Transmission again?_" She knew in her gut that Clark was going to need her help, but if her protection was removed…

"_Miss Sullivan, have no fear. They will be unable to revert you to your past artifical obsession._" Chloe thought he sounded rather smug.

She decided to press the issue while she still had time. She thought about wondering what was taking them so long, but decided she didn't really care. "_How do you know? After all, it's just a bandage type thing on my temple!_"

"_They searched you before putting you in your cell. They were not able to remove it then and will not be able to do so now._" He paused and Chloe felt like holding her breath. Reluctantly, his voice returned. "_Test it out yourself, Miss Sullivan. You try and remove it._"

Before she could stop herself, her hand was at her temple and felt… absolutely nothing there. "_Wha… What happened to it? Did it fall off? Why am I still exempt?_"

"_It was absorbed into your system and cannot ever be removed._"

Chloe's eyes widened and she felt a sudden fury explode within her at this… this… this alien busybody. "_Does Clark know? Ooooo! I'll just bet he did! How dare you? I didn't ask for something alien to be done to me! Get it out. Get it out now!_" She wished that even a hologram could be in front of her so she could take a swing at him.

"_You need to calm yourself. Clark knew nothing other than what I chose to tell him. And I would not remove it even if I could. Look at all the good it has already done._"

Chloe wanted to spit. "_You know what, you idiotic Kryptonian? Get out of my head! You have done absolutely nothing to 'help' me and nothing good has come of it besides coming to my own senses, which I had already proved was possible in my efforts with Lex._" She slumped back to the ground and put her head in her hands. "_If it hadn't been for you, they wouldn't be coming to interrogate me… wouldn't have me under surveillance currently… Your overweening arrogance has placed my possible freedom in jeopardy._" She thought slowly and realized that she had even less reason to trust him now and decided to throw caution to the winds. "_And you could very well be the source of the Transmission. Reportedly, there's no way for you to contact Clark to let him know where I am. I think the reason why I'm not currently affected by the Transmission is because you excluded me to cement Clark's trust in you. Well get this, you weird alien megalomaniac. I don't trust you and I'll do everything I possibly can to get to the bottom of this mystery and, if you have one iota of a part in this, I'll make sure that Clark never trusts you and never returns for training. You have my word on that!_"

She was only rewarded with silence. She didn't know if he'd listened to the entire rant, and realized that she may have threatened him too much. _Great, Sullivan_, she castigated herself. _Tip your hand. That's a good way to run an investigation! You should have just pretended to trust him… Then he could have tried to prove it to you by helping you escape. Once you're out of this little corner of Hell, you could have helped Clark. Right now you're just warming the concrete with your butt!_

Unfortunately, her recriminations didn't end when the door slammed open. The three LLs filled the doorway, eyes penetrating every corner of the cell. She looked at them with wide eyes, hoping that she looked innocent rather than scared. She was definitely not reassured by the hard yet empty look identical to each face. "You will come with us," they said in unison, furthering her creep factor.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, scooting to the corner of the room opposite the toilet. She didn't want them to think she was protecting anything over in that area. She even clenched her hands behind her back, faking hiding something there before she was dragged out of the room by the girls.

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A/N:** Wow! Look at this long chapter! I haven't written one like this in ages! I feel so good about that! _

_iluvsmallville1: Thank you for the complement! My ultimate wish is to be a professional writer. Then I could indulge in that passion and work on some of my others. ;D Don't worry about not reading the last chapter right away… it's just that you normally write a review right away, so I wanted to double check on you… whether you were okay, or just hated the last chapter! ;D_

_Johnny Superfecta: Yeah. I thought that the whole thing with the bunkers in Smallville being lined with lead was funny. Otherwise, Clark would just be able to look into anyone's home at a whim… Not that he would, but still:D_

_Lana-Fu is very hard to defeat. I think it's something about not expecting it from her… ya' know?_

_KentCharm: Since you shared my views about the non-Chloe death for Ep. 100, congrats to you as well. But can I tell you that I totally felt ripped off that Lana didn't die and that they killed off Jonathan? I can't even watch it again or I'll burst into tears! It's terrible!_

_I'm not sure how I feel about this incarnation of Clark. I know that Chloe is his best friend and he feels like he can confide in her about everything since she now knows all about him, but how can he be so… so… so insensitive? After all, it was just last year that she practically told him that she was still in love with him and he had to let her down "easy". I could just spit with ire!_

_MarkMark261: I didn't make a huge deal about it, but a chapter or two ago, Clark went to talk to Chloe and she was totally missing and there were three drops of blood on the ground. I let him make a mental leap! ;D_

_So sorry. I'm the News Editor for AMO or Allison Mack Online. (They must have deleted it because it was so websitey.) So far, it hasn't cut too far into my fan fiction writing and I'll have to reconsider if it starts to…_


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N:** I feel so blessed to have people like my work. It inspires me to continue on. I would hope that I could be like my friend and press on even harder if I get criticism… but that hasn't happened (the criticism, that is), so I don't know if it would spur me on or not…_

_OK, so on a different note, I'm going to be updating on the weekends. I'm trying to be good at work (but when I'm bored, I am spending a lot of time writing) and not use the internet for non-business related things. So, to take care of that, I'm going to do the weekend updating. But if you all are very, very good, maybe I'll take my files home and update midweek too. ;D_

_Next part of business… I'm considering doing a story synopsis at the beginning of each chapter… you know, like the WB does for Smallville at the 30-minute mark. What do you think? Please let me know so I can implement it with the next installment… or not._

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Chapter 17

Each arm felt as if it had been clamped in a vice and suddenly she remembered the events of the night before. She didn't know if it would be worth it to struggle as they walked her down the hallway. Plus, with their augmented strength, they could easily knock her out and take her wherever anyway. Would her comments to Jor-El be inflammatory and cause more problems or did she just alienate her best chance of an ally?

She didn't really have a lot of time to agonize over her actions because it wasn't long before she was dragged into another small room… This time it was windowless with a single chair in the middle of the room. She knew it wasn't a good sign that the chair had leather straps on the front legs and the arms. She started struggling, but it was way too late. When she even pulled the three-year-old trick of going limp and having jelly legs, Lex just grabbed her legs and she was carried to the chair. Lana held her down while the other two strapped her down. Even more unnerving was the fact that they didn't make a sound during the entire operation. When she was securely bound, they turned and left the room.

Chloe took a second to look around her, but there was absolutely nothing remarkable about the room. Her brain felt like it was just running around in circles as minutes passed. Finally, the voice she was dreading and expecting filled the room. "Something was detected inside of your room. What was it?" There was no cajoling tone or any humanity forced into the voice this time. It just wanted answers… answers Chloe had no intention of giving… just in case.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said firmly, lifting her chin in defiance.

Pain lanced through her body, originating from her wrists and ankles. She stiffened in shock. She didn't scream because she refused to give it the satisfaction. The pain didn't last long, but it felt like it had lasted forever. "I am done playing your games, Miss Sullivan. You will tell me what I desire to know."

"I don't know anything," she shouted, only to be rewarded with more pain.

"You will only speak when you are spoken to. You have been coddled due to Kal-El's apparent preference for your company, but you are not the only female on this planet." Chloe seethed in silence. She would have said a couple of choice things, but didn't want to press her luck. "A signal of some sort was detected in your cell. What was it?"

"You searched me when I was brought here. You know I don't have anyth…" she trailed off as pain scorched through her again. Because she had been right in the middle of a sentence, she bit her tongue hard. Tears streamed down her cheek and she knew a trickle of blood was coming out of her mouth. When it was cut off, she could only pant for a few moments.

"You see that not providing input does you no good, Miss Sullivan. The signal was Kryptonian in origin. Are you in contact with Kal-El?"

"Clark doesn't know where I am…" she started, but it didn't even let her try and finish. This time, as the pain coursed through her, she allowed a scream to escape from her. And that seemed to help… to release part of the pain from the tension of the trauma. Why not? Isn't that part of the reason why martial arts practitioners shout?

"You will answer me, Miss Sullivan," the voice said, and Chloe could feel the smugness ooze from it.

"Wanna' bet?" she snarked. She knew the pain was coming, but didn't regret giving vent to her feelings. This time it lasted long enough that everything went black.

------

When Clark hit the high school grounds, all the memories came flooding back. Sure, it had only been three months since they'd graduated, but it seemed so much longer… An age of innocence that was quickly getting left behind in the harsh light of day. It didn't help that he felt a certain type of regret from that time that he didn't really want to relive. As he zoomed through the halls, grateful that school started later in the morning, he realized that much of his time there had been wasted with guilt, hiding from everyone, and pining over Lana.

When he hit the gym, he remembered the Spring Dance with Chloe. He wondered briefly why he hadn't fought for their relationship like he'd always fought for Lana. Chloe had been hurt by his abandonment… He'd known that. Because he hadn't been able to tell her about saving Lana, she was understandably hurt. He had known that she was trying to save herself from more pain with the "only friends" thing. And then the miraculous had happened… Lana liked him back. But as their relationship grew closer, he and Lana grew further apart. She knew he was hiding something and had refused to let him have a secret from her. That's why they'd broken up in the first place. Then it looked like they'd get back together, but she'd run away after her leg had been trampled by that horse in the Lex debacle. And then when Jason showed his true colors… But her attitude didn't change. She refused to allow him to have any part that was separate from her.

The worst thing was that through it all… all the growing pains… emotional ups and downs… Chloe had been there. Sure, there'd been that one dark period where she'd been sort-of working for Lionel, but even then she'd protected him… which put her in even more danger. He should have trusted her years ago and not allowed her to find out through Alicia. Andhe wondered why he'd waited… How could she have proved herself enough that he would have trusted her with his ultimate secret? He couldn't blame it on her desire to be a famous journalist. She'd swallowed stories before. Pete had showed him the "Chloe Chronicles". It could have been the story that cemented her in the journalistic world… but she knew that it was wrong… that it would have endangered others… and had refused to publish it. That was the best thing about her curiosity… Sometimes it was enough that she just knew.

He looked through every nook and cranny he could think of or suss out with his x-ray vision. But there were only storage areas. Finally, his random route ended at the Torch. He knew that all physical signs of Chloe had been erased… no Wall of Weird… no messy desk with mounds of leads… But he could feel her presence still thrumming behind the door. He wondered if the current Torch staff was inspired by that. He wanted to stop for a few minutes to rest and enjoy the memories of the Torch, but still in the back of his head, he could feel Chloe waiting for him… waiting for him to save her. He blasted out of the school leaving behind only a wind effect that ruffled all the paper in the hall.

------

The pain cycle continued a number of times, but Chloe absolutely refused to break. She couldn't say that she'd been through worse, but in her mind, she'd prepared for an incident that was similar… Some time that Lex realized that she knew Clark's secret and tried to force it from her. Especially after he'd rescued her from Alaska. It hadn't happened, but she knew it could at any time.

But the repetition was getting to her. "Why don't you just let me go? I don't know anything and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" She braced herself for the ensuing onslaught, but it never came. In fact, it was deathly silent in the room. She straightened in her chair from her previously slumped posture. "If you know anything about me, you know that the absolutely last thing I'd do is help you get your claws into Clark. I'd rather die."

"That can be arranged, Miss Sullivan," the voice said. The inflection was chilling, but Chloe knew it wasn't going to happen at that moment. Right now, she had value to the Transmission and a logical being wouldn't waste any type of lever. As Lex, Lana, and Lois appeared to take her back to her cell, she smiled and knew she was right. Sure, she hurt like hell, but in the end, she'd really won.

As they dragged her down the hallway, Chloe realized that she could have walked under her own power… but she found a perverse satisfaction in making them carry her. It also gave the impression that she wouldn't be able to withstand another session. But in the back of her head, she privately admitted to herself that she thought she could.

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Clark waited patiently outside of Luthor Corp for the lunch bell to ring. For some unknown reason, Lex was a huge fan of everyone taking their lunch at the same time, so security would be relatively light. Clark wondered for half a second if he should wait until the end of the work day, but to leave Chloe for over a day… Well, that just wasn't acceptable. He walked nonchalantly to the side door. After years of dealing with Lex, he'd realized that his former friend had cameras in nearly every building he owned… and there was no way to delete every back-up copy that was created. He wasn't sure how he was going to convince everyone that the last couple of weeks had been a hallucination, but he wasn't about to hand Lex hard evidence.

As he walked, he reviewed what he knew of the building's layout. Thankfully, he and Chloe had been in it enough that he knew quite a few of the secret places. And most of them weren't blocked from him. But there was one set of rooms that he'd never been to and hadn't been able to see into. He walked directly to them. He listened intently at each door before he opened it up. Each was obviously a room where experiments were being conducted… but they all seemed fairly legitimate in Lex's search for improving produce and other things to help humanity. He'd felt nauseous a number of times but hadn't allowed that to stop him. Thankfully none of the amounts of kryptonite he found were in enough of a quantity to be immediately incapacitating.

But even that search proved fruitless. It was enough to make him want to scream in frustration as he left the building. Lex's facilities, besides being on his prejudicial radar of where bad things happen to good people, had seemed like the most likely places both the Transmission equipment could be hidden and also Chloe. He wondered briefly if Chloe may have just gone back to Metropolis. After all, he _had_ just assaulted her. He wouldn't have blamed her if she'd just decided to let him deal with the problem. But then the unexpected and unexplained drops of blood hadn't been his imagination… and Lois was under the influence of the Transmission. Chloe had been feeling a rather overzealous sense of guilt for anything bad her cousin had run into in Smallville. For some reason, she'd felt like Lois would never have come there if she hadn't had agreed to Lex's scheme of faking her death.

He took a deep breath. _So, if I've determined that Chloe must have been napped by my crazy parents or friends or just neighbors, it's been nearly 24 hours now. If they haven't hurt her, her danger is increasing with every minute. I have to find her!_

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A/N: No other random Author's Notes today... Now on to the reviews! **_

_Johnny Superfecta: Thank you very much. I felt like I should have been able to do a little more when it came to describing the challenge for Chloe to shock Lex back to his senses, but what to do that the Transmission entity wouldn't immediately discover?_

_Regarding the possibility of Kryptonian telepathy and Chloe's reaction... Well, I kinda' put my own thoughts into that. Can you imagine a guy (or girl… whatever!) that you like having ESP? Somehow eavesdropping on all your little fantasies? I would have to go into hiding forever!_

_Water-Star: I have to admit that this incarnation of Lana has really gotten me on the edge. Usually I weep through any character's death, but I nearly celebrated when she got hit by the bus. I won't say much else to honor the delay in showing in Australia, but the 100th episode just about made me scream!_

_I'm so glad you liked my poem. It was totally off the cuff, but I find that's when my best poetry comes out._

_KentCharm: It's hard when you love Chloe to have her still love Clark because of the way he treats her. However, I have two younger brothers and I know that they're kinda' self-centered at that age, so I guess I put Clark in that category. Hopefully, with all the trials he will soon be facing, he'll get over it. I know the PTB won't put them together, but maybe he'll be more sensitive. Oh, wait. The PTB are going to have him date Lois, her cousin… so I don't think it'll get better any time soon._

_iluvsmallville1: Thank you for the props. Maybe I will start working harder at finishing my novel. It won't be ready any time soon, because of the chaos that is currently my life, but I'll do it. Mostly I've been nervous about the rejection, but if ya'll are any indication… ;D_

_MarkMark261: As always, thank you for the proofing notes. And I'm so glad you liked my version of Jor-El. Unlike the series, I haven't decided yet whether he's "evil" or not…_

_Oh, and what you said before is totally true. Trying to keep up with two stories at the same time is intense! And darn near impossible. I find this story suffering just a bit, but I'm going to keep plugging away._

_I suppose you're right about the "L" and "LL" subject. Hmmm… Requires some thought… and it's the weekend, so my brainbox isn't fully engaged… ;D OK, thought about it and you're right. Point it out to me if I veer back to my old ways, 'k?_


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N:** I truly apologize for being so behind on my updates. My new job is really cracking the whip on me! But maybe that's because it's so new and I'm learning… But my plans include the ability to keep up with my writing, so we'll see how I do…_

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Chapter 18

After being unceremoniously dumped on the floor fifteen minutes prior, Chloe just lay there to make sure that her strength had returned. She was rather surprised at how fast she felt like she'd recovered… and she couldn't feel that prickly warning so was fairly confident thinking that the Transmission didn't think she'd be feeling better this soon either. _It probably thinks I'll just lay here until my next torture session_, she thought irritably. Considering it had taken over her friends and family, she would have thought it would have known better. But any failing it had was something she planned to exploit.

She quickly moved to the toilet and extracted her tools, confident that a few hours in water wouldn't compromise their structural integrity. She felt very pleased at her ability to get them from Lex. In any normal situation, she was fairly certain she couldn't expect such presents from him. She looked at what he had provided and realized that the modifications needed wouldn't be too much. She just needed to bend one of the tines on the fork to keep the pins in the places she put them and then a long pointy something to manipulate the pins.

She examined the fork really closely. If she started could bend it just a little bit with her hands, she could press the tine on the floor to get the angle she wanted. She grasped the tine carefully, trying to make sure that she didn't hurt herself in the process. While toilet water may not hurt metal, there was always the possibility it may have some germ residing within that could hurt her. She shrugged. Worrying about an unknown and possibly entirely missing virus wasn't getting the job done. She pushed back on the tine and was surprised at how easily it bent under the pressure. She could only assume that it was of really inferior quality or the water had worked faster than she could have guessed.

She opened up every tool available in the knife. There were the normal knives and nail files, but there was also a metal toothpick. Chloe shuddered at the thought of sticking something metal on her teeth, but people had done more odd things. She figured that would probably be the best bet as long as it was stiff enough. Slowly, she moved toward the door. At this point in the operation, the last thing she wanted to do was attract any attention.

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Clark wandered slowly through town, trying to blend in to the general population. His height and striking looks didn't help the matter, but he had put on a hooded sweatshirt and was shlumping down the street like a delinquent teenager… or at least the stereotypical delinquent teenager. It was early afternoon and the streets teemed with people. He was drawing close to his third from the last option, the courthouse. He wasn't holding out much hope that they would be holding her in such a public building. But it was one of those with hidden rooms, so he was constrained to search it so he could follow through with his initial plan.

_Chloe would be proud_, he thought wryly. He so often went speeding off every which way that actually following a pre-determined plan was definitely different. _Now, if I can just get into the courthouse unnoticed…_ As if his very thoughts drew their attention, he was suddenly surrounded by his friends and neighbors.

"Clark, would you kiss little Johnny for me?" Mrs. Olstrom from two counties over pleaded.

"Clark, only you can stop the violence in Smallville. The police can't do anything about it." He would have laughed at the deputy had the situation not felt totally out of control.

Clark cringed from the press of people. Without a doubt, he could have plunged through to the courthouse, but he couldn't do that without hurting someone. If they had been in their right minds, he would have been tempted, but to do so now… Well, that was against all the teachings of his parents.

He tried moving against them gently… But he received absolutely no cooperation. "Excuse me," he said continuously as he tried to shoulder his way to the building. "I need to talk to Judge Dykstra about an important matter." He tried to make it seem like it was the important business of a man thinking about ruling the town, but he knew that it wasn't coming out right. However, he only received more pleas from all sides and even more people pressing in on him. He was actually a little afraid that someone would get hurt with everyone crowding the street.

He didn't know why that was bothering him and so he kept thinking of it while still struggling against the tide of humanity. He knew that he could super-jump or fly to the door, but growing up with the need to hide pounded into him daily made him hesitant to use them… even though everyone apparently knew his secret already. Suddenly, it came to him. This was the most resistance he'd received in trying to search a property. Perhaps it was because there were so many people around, but the Transmission didn't seem too easily fooled by him not using his powers. There _had_ to be something in that building worth protecting.

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Chloe had spent ten minutes fiddling with the door's lock and would have given up had her stubbornness not kicked in. She knew that she could do this. After all, she had read all she could find on lock picking. It hadn't seemed like putting her theoretical knowledge into practice would have been such a hard thing. It was all about pushing the pins up to their proper place and holding them there while turning the tumbler. But it turned out that reality was much harder than it had originally seemed.

She hadn't intended to spend so long on this project. She had thought she'd be out and would find Clark within minutes while this felt like it was taking entirely too long. She could feel her shoulders hunch and her movements become jerkier as she expected the surveillance to be reinstated at any moment. When she realized that she was just jerking at her tools and making entirely too much noise, she stepped away from her project. _OK, Sullivan. Keep it together. You can do it. If you can break into LuthorCorp, you can break out of this ridiculous cell!_

After taking a couple of deep breaths, she bent back to her labors. This time, it felt a bit easier… as if everything was magically falling into place. After a few minutes, she couldn't feel anymore pins that needed to be pushed into place and experimentally turned the lock. The door fell open at her touch and she barely managed to restrain a shout of joy.

Immediately, she felt the urge to escape the forbidding building. _I'll never feel safe againif I have to cover another court case_, she thought wryly as her feet quickly guided her to an exit. Suddenly, she stuttered to a stop as a thought came to her. _Why was I hidden here? I know it was a trap of some sort for Clark, but what does that mean? What else is hidden here that could possibly stop him?_

The answer was so obvious that she almost hit her head for her own stupidity. Of course there had to be kryptonite here. That was the only possible way they could have captured Clark and, with him being heaven knew where, capturing her was the best way to bring him here. Her face fell into grim lines. There was too much kryptonite on this planet as it was and it was getting a little ridiculous. But rather than leave such a supply for the entity that had tortured her, she determined that she had to find where it was. She turned around and delved further into the bowels of the building.

------

The knowledge that something had to be hidden in the courthouse that was of value to the Transmission fueled even greater efforts on his part. He even tried grabbing Farmer Jones by the arms and lifting him in the air to place him beside him or at least behind him so he could move one person forward. But the crowd pressed in so he had no place to put the man. Finally, he was forced to place him exactly where he had been.

He sighed and put on his most regal expression. He wasn't comfortable with this, but he'd tried everything else. "You will create a path for me," he said sharply, even managing to inject a sneer into it. But they just turned mute and pleading eyes on him. The sudden cessation of sound in the square actually alarmed him quite a bit. He could feel every eye on him and he wondered what was going to happen now. He imagined all sorts of things and tensed his body for some sort of attack. What happened was nothing he was prepared for. Suddenly, a path opened up directly to the courthouse door.

All he could do was stare at them stupidly. Something was seriously wrong with this picture. But he knew that he had to get into that building and if the Transmission was finally willing to allow him in, he had to take the chance. It surely had a set of risks, but he couldn't allow Chloe to remain captive and this was the most promising lead he'd had in 24 hours. Slowly, watching the people around him for any move to trap him again, he moved up the courthouse stairs.

Once inside the eerily silent building, he thought about his options. He could either work from top to bottom or visa versa. It felt odd having only two choices, but he decided to start in the basement. After all, if he finished his search and then had to leave right away, he could always go super-sonic from the roof. Not only that, but all of the shielded rooms were in the basement. He kept all of his senses at high alert as he moved down the stairs. The silence was harshly grating on his nerves and seemed so unlikely as to be a confirmation of his suspicions. He heard quiet footsteps and the moving of unknown items, so he immediately homed in on them. Quickly, he found himself outside of the room that the noise was originating from. He took a couple of deep breaths and opened the door quickly to surprise the occupant.

Two people stared at each other in shock and dismay, but Chloe managed to be the one to break the silence. "Clark!" she whispered and flung herself into his arms. He reveled in the feel of her and the knowledge that she was with him again.

He brushed his hand along her hair and bent his head in thankfulness. "Chloe," he whispered into her hair.

Chloe looked up as she felt a dampness on her head. _Was there a leak in the roof?_ she wondered before it dawned on her. She leaned back and looked at Clark. "Clark, are you crying?"

Clark blushed and had never looked quite so adorable to Chloe. He couldn't seem to meet her eyes as he tried to answer. "Chloe, I was so worried… I was sure someone had taken you but there was always the possibility that you'd just left… and I didn't know what to do, so I just searched all the suspect sites that I'd come up with… I really felt like I should give up hope…"

Chloe could only goggle at him for a minute. _The boy hardly needs to take a breath, does he?_ she smiled to herself. "Clark…" she tried to interrupt, but he kept rambling. After a second try met with no better success, she did the next best thing. She grabbed him behind his head and drew him in for a soul shattering kiss. She felt as if she were drowning in sensation and would have flung him to the ground to have her way with him had he not drawn back gently.

"Chloe…" he whispered, his eyes stricken.

She could have cursed at his noble streak. But then she really looked at him and realized exactly what that meant. "Clark!" she almost shouted and he quickly shut the door to keep the noise to a minimum. "How could you do it? You're the world's best hope for salvation and you came searching after me? Didn't you figure out that it was probably a trap? We have no idea what's in this building and if you're down for the count, what chance would these people have?"

His eyes were still sad, but Chloe was almost relieved to see a hint of steel in them. "I was willing to risk it, Chloe. I couldn't let you be hurt because of me…"

She closed her eyes and growled. "Clark, you big…" but then she realized exactly what he'd said and she looked up at him with adoring eyes. She reached up on tiptoe to bring him in for another kiss, but this time he resisted. That hurt her. All of her old insecurities manifest themselves and she wondered if he'd decided she was worth the risk as her friend and if his feelings for her were disappearing.

Clark ached as he could see Chloe winding up with the rejection. But he couldn't resist her for long and he still had that previous attack to atone for. "Chloe, I…" He wanted to explain, but he wasn't exactly certain how.

He could see the change come over her. He'd always admired her ability to compartmentalize her feelings so that she could deal with the disaster at hand, but he knew that she was hurting deep inside. He got a brief smile and she disentangled herself from his arms. "Don't worry about it, Clark. We have more important business to do anyway."

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A/N: Once again, I apologize for the huge delay. But I really appreciate your willingness to stick with me. If you haven't noticed by now, I have also decided that I'm going to skip the synopsis. It's not really in me… And now to my reviews… **_

_samiosam: I'm so happy that you have joined my fans… (Muwhahahaha! Ah yes! They'll never see into my evil plot! I mean… What?) Thank you for the compliments. I can't tell you how much they mean to me._

_Johnny Superfecta: Well, if I knew that people who've developed powers had experiments done on them (see "The Chloe Chronicles" and the new "Vengeance Chronicles"), I would have to be prepared if I discovered my best friend had powers. After all, no matter how hard you try to hide it, people always seem to notice, don't they?_

_iluvsmallville1: Thank you for being such an avid supporter. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!_

_markmark261: Thank you so much for the typo alert and the nice things you say. As you can see, I've given up on the synopsis idea. Mainly because I'm not a synopsis girl. For crying out loud, I have a hard enough time describing my stories! ;D_

_KentCharm: I have my suspicions for the rest of the season, but they have to get over the Lana angst soon. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ;D_


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N:** Sorry for the delay everyone. But to reward your patience, this weekend you get two… two… two updates for the price of one!_

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Chapter 19

Clark looked at Chloe warily. He knew that she was nowfocusing on the task at hand rather than his apparent rejection, but she seemed worryingly withdrawn from him. However, to brave that conversation now would be to delay their task even further. "How long have you been free, Chloe? What have you discovered?"

Chloe was all business. "I haven't been free long. I didn't have much time between when Lex gave me the tools and it decided to check up on Jor-El's transmission. I only managed to pick the locks maybe five minutes ago."

Clark's mind boggled at all the information she'd just thrown at him. He blurted the first thing that came to him. "You can pick locks?"

Chloe laughed. "Well, it was my first attempt, but I managed it pretty well. After all, I'd done all that research…"

But now Clark was able to really cope with the information that she had given him. "Lex gave you the tools? How? Isn't he under the power of the Transmission? And what do you mean tortured? Who did it? I don't care if they were under the influence, I'm going to rip them limb from limb!" He could feel the rage bubbling to the surface. Normally, he would have kept a stern rein on his anger, but the thought of someone torturing his Chloe was more than he could bear.

He stilled completely when Chloe's hand on his arm brought his attention back to her. She was smiling gently. "Which question would you like me to answer first?" She knew that she had to inject some humor into the situation before Clark totally lost it. She would have been flattered, but knew deep down that Clark would have done that for any of his friends in the same position.

He looked at her and she gasped a little. Never had she seen such anger in his eyes before. She was suddenly glad that she had never made him that mad. He took a number of deep breaths and Chloe could almost see him counting to ten. The silence in the room was deafening but necessary. He shook his head as he finally managed to control his rage and looked at her. "Let's start with the worst first. What do you mean… torture?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. _So that's what he wants to hear first, hmmm?_ she mused. "Well, actually, with that I'll have to answer two questions. Jor-El's blocking bandage is also a communications device and he contacted me to find out what was going on since we hadn't contacted him. The Transmission or whatever detected it and I was brought to a small room for questioning. Lana, Lex and Lois strapped me to a chair and left. A voice seemed to come out of the woodwork to interrogate me. When I didn't answer a question to its satisfaction, I was given a large shock through the straps." She shuddered slightly and Clark drew her into his arms as if he could protect her from even the memory. "I'm okay, Clark. It didn't hurt me as much as I thought it would… or that it thought it would. And I'm sure that none of our friends would have allowed that if they'd been able to withstand the Transmission."

Clark took a couple of deep breaths to control himself. "When?" he managed, but it came out as more of a growl than anything and he shook his head. He had to think straight, but this wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped.

"They brought me back to my cell ten minutes ago," she admitted slowly.

She knew he was going to blame himself and was rewarded with her knowledge of Clark. "You mean if I'd gotten here faster? If I'd used my super-speed more…?" His voice was choked with guilt and anger.

Chloe wished she hadn't had to tell him, but she'd sworn that she would never lie to him. "Clark, I'm not sure it would have mattered. You still would have walked into a trap and I wouldn't be free to help you…"

"But Chloe…"

"But nothing, Clark. I know that you did your best to get here and I'm not blaming you for what happened. _You_ had nothing to do with it." She wished that he could get that through his thick skull, for this and for his earlier attack while under red kryptonite. She could see him struggling, but there was nothing he could have done or could do to remove that experience from her. In a perverse way, she was glad it had happened. She now knew her own personal strength and didn't have to worry anymore about being forced to divulge Clark's secret.

As he continued to just look at her hopelessly, she decided to just continue. "I got the tools from Lex after I was able to break the Transmission's hold on him for a bit. I goaded him with his own desire for power and faced him with the artificial attitude of only wanting to put you in power." She smiled at the memory. "It didn't work as long as I'd hoped, but it worked long enough. He snapped out of it, with no memory of his previous actions, and I was able to get a fork and his Swiss Army knife from him. But then…" she shuddered at the memory. "Then the Transmission took him completely over like it had done for Lana and Lois. It was scary to watch."

Clark's jaw firmed. "The Transmission is becoming bolder. It now has the taste for complete control and I can't believe that it would be content now with having me rule the world."

Chloe looked at him in shock. Was he seriously considering that a machine might take over? But it was faceless. Even brainwashed people needed a person to follow. "Clark, be serious. I know for a fact that it can't completely control everyone all the time. It's going to start spreading itself too thin. I really think you're giving it too much credit."

He looked at her, but she could tell that he wasn't feeling swayed by her argument. She started marshalling some reasons, but he shook his head and shrugged. "It doesn't matter right now, Chlo. We just gotta' get rid of it somehow." Chloe thought about it for a minute and Clark looked his fill. He knew that Chloe thought he was free from some mysterious spell that had thrown them together, but he was just cherishing every moment they spent together. Her disappearance this time felt even worse than when she'd possibly been blown up. After all, when that had happened, he'd been in Jor-El's thrall and totally unaware of it. But this time… This time had been different, and it hadn't mattered if she'd been kidnapped or if she'd run from him. Her support had been taken from him when she was the only one he could turn to. He hadn't been sure he was going to make it on his own.

Suddenly, he realized that Chloe had been talking for a bit and focused all his attention on what she was saying rather than his morbid thoughts. "…here. What do you think, Clark?"

Clark blushed hotly. He hadn't caught enough to actually give an intelligent opinion. But he tried to brush it off with "Whatever you think is best is fine, Chlo."

She looked at him with those piercing eyes and heknew that he was well and truly caught. "Clark, you have to start paying attention. We are not in friendly territory here. I said…" She looked at him again and raised an eyebrow. "Are you paying attention?" He just sighed and she smiled. "I said we should search only the rooms that are blocked from your x-ray vision. It would be a waste of time to search the other rooms."

He nodded quickly. "That's what my plan had been when I'd first entered… and all of them are down here."

She looked around. "It makes sense, Clark. Basements tend to be the most secure… or if someone _does_ break-in, it's easier to trap them." She looked a little scared. "Maybe that's the plan… Maybe we should just get out of here…"

Clark was shocked. Chloe wanted to leave? He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. "Chloe, I won't let anyone hurt you again. I'll bring down this building before I let that happen.

His comment seemed to do the trick because she looked up at him with laughter in her eyes instead of fear. "What are you going to do, Samson? Push the support columns apart?" He was a little confused at the reference, but didn't question his good fortune. "Clark, I'm afraid that they've hidden kryptonite down here… and you know that you wouldn't be up to anything if you're in its vicinity."

Clark smiled and Chloe's heart started beating faster. _Goodness, that boy has a killer smile!_ she thought woozily. "That's why I have my protector with me," he laughed. They allowed themselves to grin at each other for a moment, but the situation was becoming too volatile for them to relax for too long. Clark looked around the room. "Did you find anything in here?"

"You mean besides boxes of dusty old records that should have been scanned into the system by now?" she asked wearily. She shook her head. "There's nothing here and obviously there's no kryptonite in here otherwise you'd have been on the floor long before now."

He looked around and realized that he had put them in an awkward position. If kryptonite _had_ been planted in this building, he would only be a liability. "Maybe I should…"

Chloe's grip on his hand kept him exactly where he had been. "Oh, no. You said you felt safe with your protector and safe you are. You're heavy, but I could move you if I had to." She looked grim and determined. "Instead of yakkin' in here, we really should start the search in earnest. You scan each door we pass and if it's shielded, we'll go in. You can stand at the door and let me know if you feel any weakness or fainting."

Clark was slightly offended. "Chloe, I don't faint."

She rolled her eyes. The egos of guys were so fragile and it was sometimes hard to remember that Clark's ego was even more so. "Fine, Clark. Pass out from the pain. Whatever. But if you're at the door, make an effort to fall outside of the room so I can close it and maybe shield you from the radiation." She looked him square in the eye. "You don't have to prove your bravery to me, Clark. Just be practical too."

He grimaced, but nodded in agreement. Apparently, Chloe had picked up more from her Uncle Sam than she'd ever let on before. She led their mission like a true military leader. He was actually quite impressed with her tactics. They ventured further down the hallway, but each room that was shielded just held more dusty files. And with each room, Chloe's frustration was growing to a boiling point.

Finally, she cracked. "Oh, this is pointless! There's absolutely nothing here! Why did they bring me here?"

Clark was at a loss. It wasn't often that Chloe was so frustrated with a situation that she'd want to give up without finding the answer. But he kind-of agreed with her. From what they'd been able to find currently… or to be more accurate, hadn't been able to find… this was just a regular courthouse. Clark would have thought it would be too dangerous to hold a prisoner in such a building. "I don't know, Chlo. There has to be something…"

But Chloe had hardly been listening to him. Suddenly she burst out, "I know what's bothering me… Where are the double-Ls?"

Clark gaped at her for a moment. "Double-Ls? Excuse me?"

Chloe fluttered her hands at him as she started to pace. "Clark, seriously! Lana Lang, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor." Her eyes narrowed as she thought of their friends. "They were here, Clark. They dragged me back to my cell. But they aren't here now. Why aren't they here now? Why haven't we met any kind of a searching force looking for me? I know that it thought I was totally incapacitated, but it should have known when I opened my door. Something is wrong here."

Clark looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, when I first got here, I got a lot of resistance in the form of a lot of the citizens of Smallville and Granville pressing in on me and then suddenly they melted away to form a path directly to the courthouse. I knew something important was in here because of the crowd, but now…"

Chloe started to gnaw on her fingernails, her face a study of worry. "Clark, we're missing something here. There's some significance to this building being totally empty of anything suspicious besides being the location of my captivity." She rubbed her temple and her eyes brightened as the solution came to her. "Jor-El!"

Clark sighed. "Chloe, I don't think Jor-El could have removed every…"

Chloe smacked him on the shoulder to silence him. He would cause her to lose her epiphany if she wasn't careful. "No, Clark. Jor-El said that if we didn't counteract the transmission soon, the antidote wouldn't be effective." She looked up at him in horror. "Do you think… I mean, is it possible…" She took a deep breath. "Clark, what if they kidnapped me solely to delay us in counteracting the damage?"

Clark's look of horror matched hers. "Chloe, that could mean…"

"That we're too late?" Chloe's hand went back to her mouth as she thought about her answer. "I don't think so, Clark. Otherwise, we would have met some resistance or brainwashed people… and we haven't. So, if it isn't too late, where could they possibly be?"

"Well…" Clark blushed as he began. "When you disappeared and I found the drops of blood, I'd just come back from my survey of town. I decided to tour all the buildings that were shielded from me. I knew that I'd find either you or the Transmission facility in one of them."

"Clark, that was brilliant!" Chloe smiled at him and his blush deepened. It wasn't often that he got her admiring approval on his investigative technique. "Do you have your list?" As he pulled it out of his pocket, he wondered if she'd find his conclusions worthy. He wasn't sure why, but her approval was something that was worth earning whenever he could. Chloe was silent and he could feel himself becoming a bundle of nerves. "We knew about most of these from before, but Clark, this is an admirable list." He smiled and suppressed a sigh of relief. "So, which ones did you manage to search before you found me here?"

Quickly, he ticked off each one. "KROW, the Mansion, the shipping center, the Retirement Center… and we have to talk about _that_ place later… the school, LuthorCorp proper and here."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "And you didn't use your super-speed? Clark, this must have taken forever!"

He looked at her and smiled. "Well, I won't say that I've gotten any sleep, but I did use my powers when I was absolutely positive that no one would see."

"Clark, to be honest, I didn't think you had this amount of logic in you, but this is fantastic!" She looked at the list and missed Clark's blush of pleasure. "So, there are only two more places to check out."

He nodded. "The foundry and the mill." He looked at her with worry and gnawed a little on his lip. "Do you think I should have started there first?"

Chloe looked at the list and map. She shrugged. "I don't know, Clark. You could have, but you wouldn't have had the shelter to check out the other things if you'd made the loop that way." She smiled ruefully. "And besides, don't you know that it's always the last place you look?"

He laughed, as he knew he was supposed to. "So, where should we go next?"

"Well, I don't think we should disrupt your method at this point. The foundry's closest, so let's go there." She looked at her attire in dismay. We _may_ have to stop at my dad's place or a store where we could pick up some shoes for me."

Clark thought about it. "Well, I could always carry you…"

Chloe laughed. "But wouldn't that be too conspicuous?"

He thought about it. "Chlo, I think our cover's already blown. I'm going to super-speed us to the foundry anyway…"

"But then I wouldn't be able tohelp much there… It's not like you could fight with me in your arms… and if they've put anything on the floor in anticipation of my arrival, you wouldn't want to put me down anyway… I really don't want a 'Die Hard' situation here." She flinched a little at the imagined pain.

Clark nodded. "But going to your house would be too obvious and too long. Let's just whip into Fordman's and grab you a pair."

Chloe gasped in teasing surprise. "You'd steal a pair of shoes?"

"Of course not," came the instant response. "We'll grab the shoes and some socks and then leave money on the counter."

Chloe laughed. "Only you, Clark."

"I can't guarantee that they'll be fashionable choices, Chlo. I'm going to have to pick the first ones in your size…"

She rolled her eyes. "Clark…" she said warningly. "We're off to save the world. I don't have to look like I just came off the cover of a magazine…"

He smiled and opened his arms, which she willingly went into. "Hold on tight," he teased.

Chloe smiled and reveled in the feel of his arms around her again. "As if you'd let me fall…" she snarked, but they both knew the truth of that statement deep down in their bones. She just leaned her head against his shoulder as he sped away.

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A/N: I cannot express how much your well-wishes and happy joy-joy comments regarding my writing is appreciated. While I would write anyway, this is just the icing on the top that makes me smile. Keep it up! **_

_kezz: You know, I've considered submitting my work to see if I would be acceptable as a Smallville writer. That would be one of my dreams! Of course, I'd need to work faster… but I'd have people to work with… which might be a problem since they seem to have a problem sometimes with consistency… but yeah. One of my dreams is right! But no matter how much we beg, it probably won't happen. (I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but I can tell it's really going that way. ;D)_

_water-star: Season 5 is doing well, but I always seem to have my issues. Maybe that's because I'm nit-picky, but that's just me. Martha is, of course, fabulous. I won't ruin anything for you, but she gives a performance this season that really shows that she can reach in and rip out your heart if she so chooses. Lana & Clark… well, they're kinda' up in the air. We'll see how that goes. I'm looking forward to a huge break-up scene, but I probably won't get that… That would be too nice. And thank you, as always, for liking my work._

_samiosam: Thanks ever so for the review. Clark… Well, it's going to take Clark a bit, but Chloe's strong and she knows what happened isn't necessarily his fault… but Clark's values wouldn't just let him accept her forgiveness without some atonement._

_iluvsmallville1: You're always so complementary! How could I help but love you! ;D_

_markmark261: Can I just express how hard it was/is to write for two characters. That's why I'm enjoying "Sun Goddess" so much. Writing in first person forces me to focus only on the thoughts of one person. It's fantastic! As always, the proofing is much appreciated. It's such a relief to have someone else that notices those things! And I didn't want Clark to fly, number 1 because I wanted to give him a barrier, and number 2 because I felt that he would still be under the geis of his upbringing to not use his powers in public._


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N:** As promised, here is the next chapter of the story. Surprisingly enough, I didn't get as many reviews as I would have thought… but perhaps that's because more people use the computers at work and school than I thought… ;D I shouldn't be surprised. Before I was trying to be "good, that was me!_

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Chapter 20

When they stuttered to a stop in the woods outside of the foundry, both felt a pressure hit them. It was as if they were fighting a battle against someone else's will. Chloe could feel a headache coming on and actually fell to her knees as the pressure increased. But she fought it with every fiber of her being. She would never allow herself to become the mindless slave of the Transmission again. After a few minutes, she could feel the pressure lifting a little and was able to get back to her feet. She noticed that Clark was leaning heavily against a tree and felt better about her own reaction. "Clark…" she asked softly, unwilling to cause him pain if his headache was anything like hers and because she wasn't absolutely certain if they wouldn't be overheard.

When he didn't answer immediately, she went directly to his side and put her hand on his arm. Immediately, she noticed his muscles relax and realized that her headache had also subsided to a mild twinge. He looked at her and smiled. "That was incredible, Chlo. I couldn't believe the pressure…"

She nodded, unwilling to rehash the experience. "I know, Clark. But that lets us know one important fact… We've found it." As one, they turned to the innocent looking building. Chloe shivered at the waves of negativity flowing from it and Clark put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She felt blessed that he would and could support her right now. There had been a couple times when she felt like she would fall apart, but he'd been there… refusing to allow her to break apart. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get this over with…"

She would have stepped forward, but Clark's arm stopped her cold. She looked up at him in confusion. He was just staring at the building, but his face was grim with purpose. "Chloe, I can't let you come."

She laughed, but trailed off as she realized how serious he was. "But Clark…"

He shook his head to forestall her arguing. "Chloe, I can't let you get hurt again. This is my battle. The Transmission wants _me_ to rule the world. You would be extraneous to it. It might just decide to get rid of you while it could."

Chloe looked at him and realized that she was starting to get more than a little angry at her best friend. "Clark, don't be stupid. I'm going with you." He shook his head. Her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned into a mutinous line. "And how exactly are you going to stop me?"

He looked down at her with shocked eyes. "What do you mean?"

She put her hands on her hips as if she were lecturing a particularly insubordinate student. "Clark, that thing took me and my friends over. It took _me_ captive. It tortured me for information. I have more of a score to settle with it than you do. In fact, knowing what it does, you're the one who's not safe. You should stay out here while I program in the antidote."

"Chloe, that would be stupid. You could get hurt." He was pleading with her, but she couldn't allow those green eyes to sway her.

"You're right, Clark. That would be stupid. Almost as stupid as if you went in alone." She took his hand and looked at him earnestly. "We're stronger together as a team. I can protect you somewhat from kryptonite and you can protect me from everything else. And it may be that I have to program in the antidote while you fight the defenses." She shrugged and gave him a small smile. "Besides, we started this together and we should finish it together."

He looked at the building and then back to her. Suddenly, his eyes filled with pain and that scared Chloe more than anything else. "Chloe, when I was on red kryptonite, I didn't mean…"

Chloe knew exactly what he was doing and felt like she was going to be sick. He wanted to apologize now in case he didn't make it. She knew in her heart that he would do something stupid rather than have her get hurt. "Clark, don't."

He looked at her in shock. "But Chlo…"

"Seriously, Clark. I don't want to hear it." Her eyes hardened into flinty green emeralds. "You weren't yourself and you didn't… didn't follow-through."

He looked a little green around the gills at the thought. "But it shouldn't automatically excuse…"

Chloe sighed deep in her heart. She wanted more than anything to tell him to forget it, but knew that wouldn't happen in a million years. "Clark, if you want to apologize, fine. But don't do it now. I want you to have something that you want to fight for survival against. You can tell me later."

Clark opened his mouth to say something, but the look on her face told him that if he tried again, she would personally shove some kryptonite up his behind. He gave her a weak smile and nodded.

Hand in hand, they crept toward the building. Like the courthouse, it was disturbingly silent… not even the rustle of animals in the trees. In response, they were also fairly silent. Clark remembered from early exploration of the building that there were actually only a few rooms, so he waspretty confident that it shouldn't take too long to find the Transmission.

Therefore, it was quite a shock that, in the very first room they looked, the Double-Ls were lain out on the floor. _I never realized how appropriate that abbreviation was before_, Clark thought. Chloe quickly moved to their sides and checked the pulse of each one. "They're still alive," she breathed in relief.

That same relief hit Clark like a ton of bricks and he wished he could have sat down for a minute. But then the questions came. "But why? Wouldn't they have been useful in any kind of defense action?"

Chloe looked at them sharply and then her eyes lost focus as she thought hard about that question. When she looked up at Clark, her eyes were panicked. "Clark, did you notice that town seemed rather empty when we were leaving?"

Clark thought back to their whirlwind trip. He _had_ been rather surprised that all the people who'd crowded in on him initially were totally gone. In fact, the trip had been rather easy as he'd not had to worry about dodging around anyone. And Fordman's had been surprisingly empty. He smiled at the memory of the pink sneakers and footie socks with the little puff ball in the back that he'd snagged for Chloe. She'd glared at him for a full five minutes for that one. "I don't remember seeing anyone…" he said slowly.

"That's what I thought," Chloe said shakily. "Clark, if the Transmission spreads itself too thin, it can't control everyone so completely. That's how I got through to Lex. I played his love of power against the Transmission. That awakened an emotional response that the Transmission couldn't counter fast enough." She looked up at him, her eyes distinctly worried. "Clark, it's shut everyone down. That must mean that it's working on controlling something and someone so completely…"

"You have always been too smart for your own good, Ms. Sullivan," a familiar voice said with an unfamiliar overtone. But before either could look up, Clark was slammed from behind and crashed into the wall behind Chloe.

"Clark!" Chloe screamed.

Chloe whipped around to see who could possibly have that kind of strength. It was a man encased in a strangely massive metal suit. She gasped in horror and scooted back toward Clark as she recognized him. Jonathan Kent's head was peaking out the top of it, glaring at her with such hatred and animosity that she wanted to immediately burst into tears. "Mr. Kent!"

The laughter she heard chilled her to the bones. "I thought you knew better, Ms. Sullivan," Jonathan said with a sneer. "Jonathan Kent is not here right now…"

She knew that there was no way that she was going to get through to him and turned to Clark. Thankfully, the blow hadn't caused him to lose consciousness so she just helped him sit up. When his eyes finally focused on his foe, his eyes widened. "Dad?" he whispered.

"You are not worthy to call me that, Kal-El." Jonathan looked at Clark with such disdain that Chloe was afraid that Clark wouldn't be able to fight him. She knew she could do nothing against him.

Clark struggled to his feet and Chloe assisted him. He put her behind him and walked up to his father. "Dad, can't you see that you're being controlled by the Transmission? You have to fight it."

Jonathan showed no reaction on his face and only punched Clark in the face, which flung him out the door. "There is no fighting, Kal-El. But I suppose I should not use your given name as you are unworthy of such a noble Kryptonian heritage. You have been corrupted by these humans. They have made you weak."

Clark's eyes hardened and he caught Jonathan's fist as it descended toward him. "You aren't my father," he screamed in rage. "How could you take him from me?"

But the time for words was over. Clark tackled Jonathan to the ground and the real battle began. Chloe was afraid that Clark would feel like he needed to roll over and take this beating because she knew he felt guilty over everything that had happened. But blow was exchanged for blow and Chloe had a hard time following the exchange. The two men rolled along the floor as if they were just children wrestling. She _could_ feel the shockwaves, however, and knew this battle was titanic. But the battle was taking its toll on Clark. She knew he wasn't hitting Jonathan's head in fear of doing permanent damage and was focusing all his blows on the battle suit. But it just seemed to absorb each blow with no damage and Chloe knew Clark was tiring and it was beginning to show.

Finally, she couldn't just sit back and let this happen to Clark. She _had_ to get involved. She waited until a moment when Jonathan was on top and pummeling Clark. Then she jumped on his back and began batting at his head. He twitched as if she was a mosquito on a bear, but she could tell it wasn't truly affecting him. The same couldn't be said for Clark. The moment she had joined the fray, he had stilled completely and could only look at her with horror. Jonathan took advantage of Clark's hesitation and continued to pound into him.

Chloe was rather chagrined at how easily he brushed off her blows and started to intensify her efforts. She was rewarded with a roar of pain as she clapped his ears hard. He paused from his beating of Clark to try and pull her off his back. But the suit wasn't sufficiently flexible enough for him to succeed. But she knew, at this point, that she didn't have much time left. Clark still refused to do anything while she was there in case he accidentally hurt her. Jonathan slowly lumbered to his feet and she knew he was going to just scrape her off his back by smashing into a wall. Then the most ridiculous and idiotic idea came to mind. Her hand was moving before she could stop it and she put pressure on the artery of the neck between the ear and the shoulder. She'd never had the occasion to use the Vulcan neck pinch before, but the continued pressure did cause Jonathan Kent to slump to the ground, unconscious.

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A/N: I know the Vulcan neck pinch is a bit much, but it hit my brain and I thought it was so oddly amusing that I had to put it in! ** _

iluvsmallville1: Sweetie, it's all the practice I'm getting on this site. Also, remember… I'm 32 and have been writing for what seems like forever. If I can't turn a phrase or describe a scene… Well, that would be sad! ;D

markmark261: You're right. I couldn't just have Clark just take the stuff. You just know he would have paid for it somehow…


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N:** Nothing much to say except for life seems to be conspiring against me submitting these on a weekly basis. I'll try and get better, but it's totally driving me nuts!_

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Chapter 21**

Clark stared at her in disbelief. He hurried over to the both of them to make sure neither was hurt. "Chloe," he asked in amazement, "what did you do?"

Chloe blushed hotly. "The Vulcan neck pinch…" she muttered quietly, hoping he would miss her answer, but there was no hope of that.

He immediately burst into gales of laughter. "Where in the world did you learn…?"

She felt defensive and put her hands on her hips to more effectively glare at the giggling Kent boy. "Dad was a Trekkie, okay? And they did some further explanation during "Spaceballs"… Haven't you ever tried to do something like that?"

"I'm not a Sci-Fi guy, Chlo… You know that." He managed to get control of himself again. He looked worriedly at his father. "How long will he be out?"

Chloe shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Clark winced, touching a bruise or two that were already showing signs of healing. "He almost beat me. But I couldn't hurt him… It wasn't his fault…"

Chloe could have screamed in frustration. Sure, Clark was as close to indestructible as made no difference, but he'd been getting his butt handed to him on a platter. If Jonathan had kept up the attack, there's no telling if Clark would have survived. Plus, they really didn't have time to play patty-cake with the possessed. "Clark, I've seen you incapacitate people before without hurting people, so this should have been the same kind of thing."

Clark had the grace to look chagrined, but he wasn't truly penitent. "Chloe, he's my dad." They both stared down at him for a moment and a thought came to Clark. "What if he comes awake while we're trying to download the antidote? He could really mess everything up."

Chloe looked at Jonathan Kent with a shrewd eye. "Wouldn't you agree that what makes him so incredibly dangerous is the suit?" Clark nodded slowly. "Then if we take it off…"

"…We've put another chink in the Transmission's plans. Chlo, you're brilliant!" Clark looked as if he would swing her up into a giant hug, but got control over himself before he moved very far. Chloe had to swallow her disappointment.

As a team, they gently removed the armor from the unconscious elder Kent. Chloe was amazed at how easy it was. When they had all the pieces removed, Chloe looked at them in dismay. "Clark, if he comes awake, he could just put all this on again. What are we going to do?"

Clark smiled at her. "We'll just put them all in one of the empty rooms and then I'll seal the door shut." He shrugged. "Dad wouldn't be able to get through that very easily and that'll give us the time we need to get everyone back to normal."

Chloe would have kissed him or hugged him in reward, but really didn't feel brave enough for the experiment yet. Heaven knew she didn't need another rejection from Clark. Quickly, they gathered all the pieces and tossed them into the room across the hall. Clark fused the door shut and melted the lock. She had to admit that no one _should_ be able to get in there easily… and it wasn't like they needed a huge amount of time.

Chloe silently followed Clark back down the hall. She hoped that Jonathan had been their final challenge, but she couldn't imagine the entity they called the Transmission wouldn't have more defenses. She wasn't sure what odds she'd give the two of them to succeed, but she knew they would if their determination had anything to do with it.

Deep in her thoughts, Chloe didn't notice when Clark stopped suddenly at the entrance of the main work room. She slammed directly into his back and bounced off a bit. She shook her head to get rid of some of the reaction. "Mom?" she heard Clark whisper. She darted back to his side and peered into the room. She was pleased that they'd finally found the main center of the device, which was evident by the sophisticated machinery that had no business being in a foundry, but was alarmed that Martha Kent was inexplicably suspended in mid-air.

"Kal-El," Martha's voice was entirely too wooden and definitely had the timbre of what Chloe thought of as the Transmission. It was also shocking that it also came from the machine behind her.

_This can't be good,_ Chloe thought and her eyes darted around the room. She didn't see anything that should harm Clark, but that didn't necessarily mean there _wasn't_ anything.

"Mom," Clark choked, his eyes filling with tears. Chloe knew that this was the ultimate trauma for the man she loved. Of all the people in his life, Martha Kent had always been his mainstay and to have her entirely removed was more than he could bear.

But she couldn't allow him to give up without a fight. "Clark," she said firmly, grasping his arm as hard as she could to get his attention. "Clark, that isn't your mom right now. If we're to have any chance of saving her and your dad, we have to destroy the machine now."

He looked at her blankly. "Chloe, I can't hurt my mom…"

"And that is what makes you weak and disposable," the terrible voice said. "I gave you everything, Kal-El. Everything that would allow you to rule these inferior beings as you were meant to. But I see now that too long have you been left under the influence of these humans." Martha spat the last word.

"Humans aren't inferior," Clark stated stoutly, but only to the machine. It seemed he could only fight if he didn't look at his mother. "They are noble and kind… They exhibit traits that I have seen in few Kryptonians and I have never been so grateful to have been adopted."

"You are unworthy of the title Kryptonian, Clark." Chloe wondered how his name could send terrified shivers down her spine. Perhaps it was because without the honorific, the machine seemed to no longer want to elevate him. "Unfortunately, while your powers can be removed temporarily, that would not be a suitable punishment. For your refusal to don your rightful role as ruler, I sentence you to death." A chill smile crossed Martha's features. "Your fear to attack this vessel only cemented my verdict."

"You can do nothing to me," Clark said stoutly, "and I will make sure that your influence is ended here." Clark walked resolutely to the machine. Chloe worried about him getting too close. It would have been better if he'd just let her program in the antidote while he kept the Transmission distracted. Sometimes his nobility made her want to scream.

Suddenly, electricity pulsed around the room. What were now obviously false walls were magnetically pulled forward and dropped to the ground. Huge stashes of kryptonite were revealed and Clark immediately dropped to his knees. "Your bravado earned you nothing, Clark. You will die and I will make sure it is as painful as I can possibly make it… especially for your presumption to call yourself Kryptonian."

"Mom…" Clark gasped as he fell to the floor in pain. Chloe could see the poison already affecting him and making his veins bulge. She ran to his side and cushioned his head in her lap.

"How can you do this?" Chloe gasped. "How will this accomplish your agenda? Wasn't your whole purpose to create a new Krypton? How can you do that if you kill the last Son of Krypton?"

Martha sneered down at her. "He may be the last son of Jor-El, but he is not the only son of Krypton… Just the most convenient. And until true Kryptonians can be extracted from the Phantom Zone, I can create Kryptonians here. Your simplistic genetic code is what makes you inferior _and_ what makes it possible to recreate Krypton here even without Clark." Her laugh echoed through the room. "As you can see, he is no longer needed to fulfill the great plan."

"Chloe," Clark whispered, drawing her eyes to his face. She'd never seen him in this much pain before. "Chloe, I'm so sorry… I've failed…"

Chloe was engulfed with such rage that she wanted to beat the crap out of Clark while it would actually hurt him. "Clark, you're _not_ going to die so just shut up! We'll think of something, so you just have to keep fighting!" She wasn't actually sure if he'd heard her because his eyes rolled up in his head. She could feel that he was still breathing, but she wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

_Think, Chloe! Think!_ she raged at herself. With the Transmission's attention entirely focused on her, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to get the antidote programmed in. She thought over the last couple of days, which felt like eons, and tried to think of a train of attack. With this much kryptonite around, Clark didn't have much time.

Then her mind flashed again to the scene with Lex and she knew what she had to do. "Mrs. Kent! Mrs. Kent!" she shrieked the older woman's name to get their attention. "Mrs. Kent, you have to stop it! If you don't, Clark will die!"

"Clark?" Martha's eyes returned to sanity briefly to Chloe's great relief. Obviously, the Transmission didn't understand humans' emotional nature… It helped that it appeared to be Kryptonian in origin and, if what Jor-El had shown Clark was true, they had prided themselves on being unencumbered by emotions. But it didn't last long. "So the boy dies," she sneered, but Chloe could see her shaking. "He is unworthy to remain in existence."

Chloe totally ignored the words of the Transmission. She didn't have time to deal with that as well. She had to reach Martha Kent if Clark was to survive and they were to save the world. "Mrs. Kent, you can't let that thing kill Clark. Remember your son and how much you love him? Do you really want him to die like this? Writhing in pain? How can any of us go on without Clark?" She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, please, Mrs. Kent! You have to save him! Only you can do that?"

Chloe wasn't entirely sure what was happening when Martha Kent suddenly went into convulsions. She could hear a metal whining sound in the background and then Martha dropped to the ground in a heap. When she raised her head, Chloe felt immeasurable relief that her eyes were entirely clear. "Chloe, what's going on?" she moaned, crawling toward them.

Chloe prayed that she wasn't too badly hurt, but she didn't have time to check. "Mrs. Kent, you have to help Clark. I'll take care of that _thing_!" She barely waited for Martha to come to her side before she was on her feet and running toward the computer.

"What exactly do you plan on accomplishing, Miss Sullivan?" the electronic voice sounded. "You can do nothing against me. Even if you are a technology genius, you cannot enter my systems. All is written in Kryptonian. I will regain control over Martha Kent and the transformation of Earth into New Krypton will begin in earnest!"

Chloe didn't even bother to acknowledge the machine. Her fingers flew across the keyboard in the exact program that Jor-El had drilled into Clark. She had paid strict attention during the lesson because she hadn't been positive Clark would be able to remember alone. After all, she was always the one able to find the information they needed on the internet.

"Wh…What are y…you d…d…d…d…d…?" If the computer had been able to exhibit emotion, Chloe felt that it would have been angry terror.

"Doing? I'm programming in the antidote, of course. On Earth, we call your kind tyrants and we don't put up with that very well. Consider this my revolution." She continued typing until the last sequence was in. Then she rushed about the room, replacing the scant protection of the walls in front of the kryptonite. She wasn't absolutely certain how she could manage to lift the walls that had to have some percentage of lead in them, but she managed. If she'd allowed herself to think about it, she would guess that it was due to adrenaline.

"Th…th…this c…c…c…c…annot…t…t…t…t… b…b…b…b…e!" The machine was starting to shudder and Chloe realized that the antidote must have also had a destruct sequence attached. She felt no dismay about that, but knew that she had to get Clark out of there. If it exploded, it would surely expose and implode the kryptonite and she had no idea what that would do to Clark.

She ran to Martha's side, who was valiantly trying to drag Clark out of the room. "Let me help, Mrs. Kent." Together, the two women managed to haul him past the door and down the hall a bit. "Keep going, Mrs. Kent. I'll shut the door and it may give us some protection. The only reason why we came here was because it was blocked from Clark's x-ray vision. Maybe that same material can help us."

Martha looked at her in shock and she realized that she just let her secret out of the bag. But she nodded and Chloe ran back. In shock, she stopped for a moment to realize the machine had burst into flame and the shuddering was now flinging molten metal about the room. She tugged and pulled at the door and was finally rewarded with a small and slow motion shut. She couldn't believe how heavy it was and kept up every effort.

"It…t…t…t d…d…d…d…oes not…t…t…t… c…c…c..omp…p…p…ut…t…t…e that…t…t…t… a m…m…mere humannnnn…" Chloe felt frustration boiling out of the room and wondered if a machine could have more emotion than she would have thought.

"Better watch out there, Transmission. You're prejudices are showing." She smirked. Finally they had triumphed and it would be totally destroyed. There wouldn't even be anything available for Lex's scientists to get their greedy paws into.

A final, ear piercing shriek of metal filled the room and her satisfaction grew. But before she could return to Clark and share in the triumph, one last energy bolt exploded from the machine and hit her square in the chest. She screamed in pain and felt herself being knocked off her feet and into the opposite wall. She could have sworn she heard, "Th…th…th…is n…n…n…n…ot th…th…th…e end…d…d…d…d…d…!" before the world blurred into black, and her last thought was that at least Clark was safe.

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A/N:** It's been a long road, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now I just have to finish my other fan fic and start a new one. Boy, it never ends, does it? ;D_

A/N: It's been a long road, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now I just have to finish my other fan fic and start a new one. Boy, it never ends, does it? ;D 

_chloedouble1011: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I like to throw in a bit of humor and I've heard that the neck pinch is effective if you do it right._

_samiosam: I'm sure this isn't quite fast enough for ya'll, but I'm working on it. I will try and update the last chapter before I go to visit my parents this weekend._

_Water-star: Jonathan will be fine. I'm probably not going to address his recovery in too much depth, but that's mainly because he's not a main character in this fic. I hope you enjoy Season 3. I have to say that I prefer Jensen in "Supernatural" than I did in "Smallville", but that's just personal tastes. ;D_

_NORCALchick: I'm so glad you liked it. It's fun to write with great characters… especially Chloe. Sometimes I feel like I can hear her straight in my brain. ;D But I'm not crazy… I'm not! Seriously! ;D_

_iluvsmallville1: I know. I'm such a oldie! ;D But I'm glad you enjoyed it._

_markmark261: I tried my best to clear up those passages that were confusing. And I'm glad you liked the surprise victim, but of course, this one would be worse for Clark. The neck pinch… Yeah, I was feeling a little frivolous that day. ;D_

_Katie: If I'd been thinking of Austin Powers at the time, I may have used "Judo chop!" but considering how much shorter Chloe is than Jonathan, I think it wouldn't have been as effective. But I'm very glad you're enjoying it._

_MadDogLane: I'm glad you found my little story as well. Welcome, welcome!_


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: **__Well, this is finally the end. I'm not sure if I want to go any further with the characters in this incarnation… but I did leave the big bad very nebulous. Hmmm…_

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Chapter 22**

When Chloe opened her eyes, the world seemed too bright for comfort. _Am I in heaven?_ she wondered inanely. She could feel a tear trickle down her cheek at the thought. The possibility of a future with Clark had been brutally ripped from her grasp by a conniving alien computer and she couldn't express her sense of utter loss and agony. She moved her eyes to the side and realized that she was lying in a bed and the room she was in was somehow familiar to her. Then the scent of antiseptic filled her nostrils and she sat straight up in bed. "Am I in the hospital?" she managed to croak.

"Chloe?" a sleepily urgent voice moaned by her side. She felt her hand captured somehow and knew that her hand was being held by someone… someone dear to her.

She turned toward him with eagerness. "Clark? Clark, we made it?"

Clark snapped totally awake suddenly. She was saddened to see the exhaustion written on every line of his face. "Chloe?" he asked incredulously. "Chloe? Chloe! CHLOE!" With each repeat of her name, he jumped up and down in joy and finally gently swept her into his arms as much as he could with her being in a hospital bed. He kept murmuring her name in her hair and Chloe allowed the tears to flow freely.

When they were able to get a hold of themselves again, Clark gently laid her back on her bed and sat back in his chair. Chloe noticed that he refused to let go of her hand again. "Clark, what happened? Did we do it? Is everyone back to normal?"

"You did it, Chloe," he said, his eyes shining with an emotion that Chloe was suddenly too shy to name. "You saved everyone. You destroyed the Transmission. You saved me. You're the hero of the day."

She blushed hotly but couldn't lower her eyes from Clark's admiring gaze. "Clark, stop teasing me. What happened?"

He smiled slowly and the room seemed to brighten even more with that. "The machine that we saw was totally obliterated. It's a pile of sludge and no one, not even Lex, would know that it almost took over the world. They don't remember anything, but time did pass. I told them that they must have been brainwashed or something while I was away because when I came back, everyone was acting out of character. And that I'd gone to get you because I didn't know what to do."

"Close enough to the truth to throw Lex off the scent. What'd they make of that?" Chloe leaned back into her pillows, ready to hear the rest of the story.

"Lex and Lois have united in their desire to find out what military or government used them for their experiment and are pooling their resources. A more unnatural pairing I couldn't imagine. But everyone else is suppressing it. Enough odd things have happened in this town that they're kind-of just writing it off."

"Very Sunnydale of them, isn't it?" Chloe snarked wryly. "But since there's absolutely no way they could connect it to you, we're safe."

His face fell. "You almost weren't, Chlo." His voice sounded choked with emotion and Chloe wasn't sure if she could deal with a crying Clark. In her current state, that would guarantee her own tears and that was just too exhausting currently.

She looked at him sternly. "Clark, apparently I'm fine… I don't know how…" She looked at him with questioning eyes. "The last thing I remember is getting hit by that electric bolt. How can I still be alive?"

Clark looked at her in concern, his eyebrow lifted in confusion. "Chloe, I don't know what you're talking about. The doctors just say you have a mild concussion. They didn't even bother hooking you up to an I.V. for crying out loud."

Chloe sat up again in protest. "Clark, I'm not imagining things… I was tugging the door shut and that machine flung an energy bolt at me and knocked me into the wall."

"I don't know, Chlo. I was totally out of it and Mom was too focused with dragging me further from that room to have seen anything." He shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

Chloe thought about it. It was important… maybe more important than she thought at this precise moment. But if he didn't know anything, it wouldn't help to make him dwell on it. _I guess my guardian angel was just on overtime,_ she thought with a smile. "OK, Clark. It's not a big deal…"

He looked at her in disbelief, but allowed it to pass. His face got even more serious. "Chloe, we have to talk…" She closed her eyes. If he was about to say that he was under the influence of the Transmission and now didn't feel anything for her, she'd resurrect that kryptonite butt idea with a vengeance. "About what happened in the loft… I can't apologize enough… I would understand if you never want to see me again…"

Chloe felt a level of relief almost orgasmic in nature. She held up a hand and looked him square in the eye. "Clark, stop being a big, fat idiot!" He looked at her in shock. She wasn't surprised because she rarely spoke to him like that. "Listen, Clark. I know you're feeling really guilty about that, but there are extenuating circumstances. Our hormones were already on high from our previous encounter so when your evil alter-ego had the same urges, it wasn't terribly surprising."

"But…" He was shocked and she expected that he'd remain that way for the rest of her explanation.

"Clark, let's look at the facts. Normally, you would have run off to Lana's rescue on your own and left me to find my own way to your house. Instead, you took me with you. After you saved Lana and she put that damn necklace on you, you kissed her… until you saw me. I'm actually thinking it's a high compliment. You've never before dropped Lana on her butt before because you were overcome with desire for me."

He blushed hotly. "You know that the Lana and me thing is totally over…"

Chloe shrugged. "Whatever, Clark. That's not the point of this discussion." She looked away from him for a brief moment. "Maybe if you'd succeeded I might feel different. But as soon as I was able to throw away that necklace, your lovemaking became gentler and more passionate. I knew in that exact moment that you would never normally force yourself on me. With all your inhibitions and morals removed… the things that make you human… you might have. But that's not what happened. It may be hard for you, but I don't hold anything against you."

His face was exactly what Chloe had expected. It held untold amounts of shock and disbelief but a hint of hope was starting to appear. She gave him her best smile and knew that the tide of guilt was starting to turn. "Listen, Clark. If we continue in the way we were heading, we'll take it really slow. We'll make sure that neither of us are being influenced unduly."

He smiled sadly and looked at the floor. "It may take me awhile, Chlo. I'm not sure…"

She swallowed hard. "I'm not saying we have to be in a relationship, Clark. I'm just saying that we'll play it smart if we still feel that way." All of her insecurities hit her full force and she had to really tamp down on her feelings so she didn't cry in front of him. She blessed whatever gods there were that he wasn't looking at her.

He breathed in deep and she steeled herself for another Clark turnabout. "It's not… I just…" He took another deep breath and it was like he was refusing to look at her. "Wouldyouliketogooutmaybethisweekend?"

Chloe blinked. Never before had she heard Clark slur an entire sentence together and she wanted to make sure she hadn't heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

He looked at her and she felt humbled at the extreme vulnerability she saw in those eyes. Suddenly, she realized that at that moment she held his heart in her small hands. "W…w…w…would you like to go out with me? Maybe this weekend if you're feeling better?"

She smiled brilliantly and he blinked. "Oh Clark!" she sighed and pulled him quickly to her. She kissed him with all the passion and need she'd been feeling for him for over four years. She could feel her body heating up with need. When she realized what she was doing, she opened her eyes before she let him go. A little smoke curled up from the curtain and she wondered if it was too close to the heater.

"Wow…" he smiled. "That was the best yes I've ever heard!"

She laughed with complete joy. "I aim to please…"

His brow knit slightly for a moment. "Have you been working out, Chlo? I didn't realize you were so strong…"

She fell back against her pillows as scenes from the last couple of days (Or was it weeks?) paraded across her memory. Everyone automatically assumed that she was Clark's avowed mate. Jor-El had implanted her with kryptonian technology with that disappearing Band Aid. The Transmission's certainty that it could create Kryptonians from humans…

She looked at Clark with wide eyes and she knew that she was as pale as a sheet. He looked at her in concern, but before he could say anything further, she blurted out her question. "Clark, do you know anything about humans being genetically altered to become more Kryptonian-like?"

**The End**

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A/N:** _

A/N: _For those of you that liked this story, I'm looking for feedback on which story I should work on next. I have one fully outlined, one mostly outlined, and one that's huge in my head. The fully outlined is hopefully semi-funny, focused on Chloe, of course. The mostly outlined one is more serious and revolves around Clark. It's very Chlarky, but you know how much I love that. The third is adapting Smallville into another well-known musical. So while you review and tell me how much you loved the ending, hopefully, cast your vote. Ever vote will count! Trust me! ;D_

_I had a lot of fun with this fic and I'm a bit sorry to see it go. But 22 chapters is a lot… usually. We'll see what happens, right? And now, on to last chapter's reviews…_

_chloedouble1011: I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Of course they won't remember. That seems to be the stand-by for every real episode where Clark shows way too many people his powers._

_MacGateFan: I'm so glad you liked it. I feel kinda' bad that you got hooked the next to the last chapter. Ah, well. Ce la vie. (La vie!)_

_KatmuEllon: I'm so glad that you've discovered me and liked my work. I work really hard at the grammar thing and I have a fabulous proofer in MarkMark261. Without him, it wouldn't be quite so tight._

_The Chloe –v– Lana thing… Well, I usually go off on how much I dislike the role Lana has in Smallville currently to my friend that reviews the episodes for the Superman Homepage. If you ever read those reviews, you'll see my comments attached to Neal's reviews… under Sara. ;D_

_MadDogLane: Yea! I didn't let the Man get me down and ya'll get an update. I was trying to do minor cliffies at the end of most chapters, but this one was a hard core one. I'm evil… I know._

_samiosam: I'm so glad you still like it. And I had to hit Chloe with that electric bolt. Otherwise, it was almost too easy for them._


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